The Light of the World

 What does it mean to be the light of the world? When a little girl cowers in fear beneath her covers in the middle of the night, she is imagining all the evil things that could be hiding in the dark. The dark hides evil things, be they evil deeds of those who manage to keep them secret, or the evil intentions of someone waiting to ambush another, or the truth when its covered up by another, or the unsung misery of an abused woman, or the evil within the heart of her abuser.
 The sun is a small percentage of God's light. The darkness is banished and whatever lies within, be it good or evil, is revealed. Often times, the evil will scatter and find some dark corner to cower in fear. But with light, the truth is exposed-- whatever it may be. Light banishes the fears of the little girl, exposes the evil within hearts, and reveals the beauty all around.
We live in a fallen world with dark places. Some cities and towns are like caves, dark and saturated in treachery and witchcraft. Sometimes Christians see this darkness as overpowering, but imagine a candle in a cave. No matter how small it is, the light consumes the darkness. Even that small flickering flame spreads throughout the cave.
I remember in driver's ed hearing that all the grime one a person's headlights can block up to 95% of the illumination. So what does that mean for us? When we let sin creep into our lives like a disease, we cannot shine the light of God as well as we should. We need to ask Jesus to clean us off so that we can shine for all men.

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." -- Matthew 6:14-16

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