Turn Your Lights On!
Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
I live on a mountain. Sand Moutain, in fact. Sand Mountain is often described as one of earths little wrinkles. To the east by a few miles is another "wrinkle" called Lookout Mountain. Often, especially in the winter months, these two long and narrow plateaus are shrouded in fog. Dense fog that some would say could be "cut with a knife". This fog is due to the altitude and to the Tennessee River which runs just to the west of Sand Mountain. Sand Mountain is the only place in the world that I know of that has dismissed school because of the fog. Yes, it does get that bad.
You'd think people would know to drive with their headlights on when the fog is thick. You'd think that, wouldn't you? But, no, some people seems to have not gotten the message (in spite of the fact that there are road signs posted advising to "Turn lights on in dense fog". The prevailing attitude seems to be "Well, I can see, why do I need my lights on?". The fact is, the "lights on in dense fog" rule is not to enable ME to see, its to help other drivers see ME!
I was driving across Lookout Mountain the other morning and met a pick-up truck.... a light gray (or is it grey?) pickup truck, mind you, with no headlights on. Of course he was driving too fast for the conditions (I probably was too, but this isn't about me, its about the other driver!)- and, due to the fog, I could barely see him. Which got me to thinking (which I sometimes do).
We all believe we are in the truth. We can "see" the truth quite clearly. Inside our little vehicle of "truth" we see things clearly, even though the world around us is shrouded in a cloud of false teaching. So... because we can see the truth, we feel no compunction to "let our lights shine". But Jesus tells us this:
Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. The purpose of "letting our lights shine" is not to illuminate our pathway- God's Word does that for us :
Psa 119:105 Thy word [is] a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. We let our lights shine so others can see Jesus in us! I saw two brethren standing in front of a group of sinners. They were arguing and debating the Scriptures. The sinners saw no good works, and certainly didn't glorify God because these two brethren didn't have their lights on. They felt safe and secure in their little orb of "truth" and failed to realize they were driving without letting their lights shine. Our mission is to "let our lights shine" so those lost in the fog of unbelief can see Christ in us.
Like the big 18 wheeler that has dozens of lights, the Lord gives us many ways for us to let our lights shine before men. He gives us "joy unspeakable and full of glory". Are you a happy Christian? (If not, TURN YOUR LIGHTS ON!) Do you love your brother (or sister)? TURN YOUR LIGHTS ON! Do you witness to the lost? TURN YOUR LIGHTS ON! Do you show forth the Fruit of the SPIRIT? TURN YOUR LIGHTS ON! Lets remember the Words of our Lord:
Ye
are the light of the world
A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid
So, the next time I am driving in the fog, and meet someone driving without his lights on, instead of fighting the urge to roll down my window to scream "TURN YOUR LIGHTS ON!", I think I'll just check to make sure I'm letting my light shine for Jesus.
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