A Light on a Hill

by | Jul 13, 2022 | Direction, Leading

14  “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. 15  No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”- Matthew 5:14-16


In August, my wife and I unpacked boxes as we moved into our new house. As I was throwing boxes away, I discovered a heavy Merrell shoe box and realized we had left something in it. I opened it up and found four baseballs in a zip lock bag. I studied the baseballs for a moment and noticed they were autographed. Upon further examination, two of the balls were signed by the Mississippi State University baseball team from the 1990 College World series. The MSU team signed another of the baseballs in 1994. Then, as I picked up the fourth ball, I saw it had a single name, Will Clark.

I was ecstatic to find these treasures from my teenage years but realized how close these items were to being thrown in the trash. I had initially put them in the shoe box to keep my sons from using them in the backyard, but in my haste to secure them, I hid them from myself and forgot that they were even there. 

Jesus tells us that we are the light in a world that is filled with darkness and disillusionment. He instructs us not to hide who we are or what we are doing for the Kingdom of God but to let everyone around us see what following Jesus means. These good works will point people to the source of our inspiration, our Heavenly Father.

When it comes to our faith, we can become reluctant to shine as the events of the world around us bring our hearts discouragement. We can even find ourselves retreating into our secure churches rather than grabbing our basins and towels and  engaging in the work of the Gospel. The danger in doing this is that we fail to be a beacon of hope in our world. If we hide it too long, we might even forget where our treasure is.

You and I were created for the days that we are living in and issued instructions to shine! We are a city on a hill that cannot be hidden! We are a lamp on a lampstand that lights the whole house!  Let us shine, pointing people to our Savior Jesus, and offering them the hope that comes from following him.


Journeying together,

John


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