We are commanded to shine our light for His glory (Matthew 5:14-16). As believers in the faith we are called to be witnesses of Jesus. We are not just Christians for the sake of being a part of a religious group. Christianity is a commitment that we make that says we identify ourselves as people who belong to Jesus and whose life will be lived under His Lordship. We don't just say we're Christians, we live as faith-filled Christians– people who know Jesus and who represent Him.
But how do we do this? How can we reflect Jesus when we are still far from perfect? Maybe this is the exact question you ask when topics like this are being preached in the church. There will be times that we'll still struggle with sin, we'll be tempted and even fail and because of that, we can feel condemned and unworthy. Yet when Jesus commanded us to be the light of the world He was aware of the fact that we would be imperfect. The constant reminder in the New Testament about the battle with sin shows that we will still deal with our sinful nature– but even so… Jesus is calling us to be His ambassadors, His co-workers to the world.
We are called to reflect Jesus… but how?
1. By having a relationship with Him
We can only reflect Him if we know Him and put our faith in Him. We can only be the light of the world if the light of Christ is in us.
John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. (John 1:8-9)
Like John, we are not the light ourselves, but we are to bear witness to the true light– Jesus. Because without Him, we will be left in darkness.
2. By living in obedience to Him
Obedience may sound easy but it isn’t. We live in a world full of temptations and compromises, and reflecting Jesus means that we will try our best not to compromise to the world’s standard no matter how much pressure we feel.
When we do our jobs with integrity, when we submit to authority, and when we refuse to do things that dishonor God– then we are reflecting Jesus.
Whether we realize it or not, people who are not followers of Jesus, are looking at how we live our lives– some may be out of curiosity, some might be questioning whether they want to follow Jesus, and some may even be watching us to prove us wrong. This is why we should always aim to honor God in all that we do so that our lives may reflect what we believe.
3. By the way we love other believers
If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. (1 John 2:8-9)
We are to witness to the world, but let’s not neglect the people inside the church. They are our spiritual family and if we are called to love our enemies, how much more should we love the church? May we always bear with one another in love. The enemy wants us divided because he knows we need one another as a church, but we should always seek to be united even when we have differences.
We hope that this will inspire us to represent Jesus in all that you do! This, shining our lights for Jesus, is the only thing of real value in this world.
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“Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.” - C.T. Studd