Let it Shine

What are we hiding from? Are we too ashamed to be bold?


I used to be that shy Christian; the one who knew the God He loved and believed in, but felt as though keeping Him to myself was an alright thing to do.  I wanted to share this Love I had found with other people, but always made excuses like "it is a really personal thing to talk about" or "I don't want to force my beliefs on other people" or better yet, "if they really want to know about my Savior they will come and ask me about Him."  I was able to satiate the inner stirrings of my soul with these excuses for a while, but I knew at the core of my being that I was only fooling myself.  Sure these excuses can be true to a certain extent, but 98% of the time they are exactly that, excuses.  


Giving your life to Christ and believing in God are very personal things, but personal things generally done in community or spoken about and taught about in groups of people; we need each other to stand firm in our faith, and people need to be told about it.  The excuse of not wanting to force my beliefs onto other people still stands true, but it no longer stops me from telling people about Christ;  sharing your faith is not forcing anything on other people, it is loving them enough to want them to know the truths that you know.  They can take what you tell them or they can leave it, but not telling them about the one thing that could save their soul, is like not telling them to get out of the way when you see a train barreling down the tracks directly for them. You want to do your part in saving their life? You would tell them.  As for waiting for them to come to me, it rarely occurred.  Once in a while someone would ask me, and I would try to explain it, but what about the people who have never heard of Jesus or Christianity?  How are they ever going to ask you questions about something they have never even heard of or know nothing about?  We need to be open, we need to be willing, we need to let the light that God has given us shine.


It literally says in the bible that as followers of Christ, we are the light of the world.  It would be selfish of us to hide this gift that was meant for all the world to see; we need to let it shine.  We need to showcase this gift, this light so that any and all who come our way may see it.  It is true that they may be able to see this light through the way we act and live out our lives, but it is not enough to hope that they notice.  We need to be proactive, we need to shine it so we know they see it.  We need to tell those around us, we need to inform our families, our friends, strangers we have just met, and even those we might call our enemies.  We are all God's children, He intends for all of us to bear this light, so who are we to hide it away in order to save ourselves from embarrassment or an awkward situation?  God gave us His life, the least we could do is tell others of the sacrifice, and let our lights shine.


Daily Verse:
“You are the light of the world. A town built 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 others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." ~ Matthew 5:14-16


Have a heart for the world, care and love those around you enough that you would want them to have a chance at salvation.  Know that we are not the ones doing the saving, but simply planting seeds so that Christ can work in them.  Let your light shine so that it cannot be hidden.  Bless those around you with the gifts that God has so generously blessed you with. Let it shine!