How Does Your Light Shine?

Mat 5:16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

I was reading this scripture the other day and the Lord revealed something to me about this.  As you read this I believe what is most taught in churches today is that we emphasize on the works, that is work to make your light shine.  You must do good works and your light will shine.  Which is saying, you will do good works if your light is shining.  Which is true, but how to get there I would like to talk about.

So what we do is we try to do good works so that our light will shine and our Father is Glorified. Which makes sense. I believe that our good works are very important and they will glorify our Father which is in heaven.

But I see it alittle different.  I want to empathize on the word LET.  In Webster’s dictionary the word LET means to permit, to allow; to permit to enter, pass, or go; to rent or lease; to make or cause, as: Let me hear you sing.

So we need to Let our light shine not make it shine, like most people do (out of good intentions of course) We try to make it shine because we want to Glorify our Father.   But instead of making it shine we need to LET it shine. Let me explain.

Well what is this light that we are talking about first of all?  Try to follow me.   Jesus said He was the Light of the world.  And in him was life; and the life was the light of men.  Jesus and the Father are one.  If you read John it proves the Deity of Jesus.  Jesus said if you’ve seen me you’ve seen the Father.   The fullness of the Godhead dwelt in him.  Jesus is God manifested in the flesh.  Jo 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  Jo 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.  So if we believe Jesus is God and we do because the bible states that.  And God is Love 1Jo:4:8: He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

Jesus is the light in us.  Jesus is God.  God is Love. So that light is the LOVE of God you can say.  So LET that Light (Love) Shine in our hearts. Don’t make it, LET it.  2Cor 5:14 says the Love of Christ Controls us.  If we let the Love of God shine through then the works which we so much want to do, will just come automatically out of a true heart and Love for God.

What happens is we try to let our light shine or should I say make our light shine by doing good works.  Getting the cart before the horse.  And the danger of that is that it  builds up a self-righteous spirit instead of the fruit of the
spirit,(Love,Joy,Peace,kindness,humbleness of mind, meekness,Longsuffering, forbearing one another etc..) And we actually become bitter, cold and pious and we have no Joy that Jesus talked about so much and a false love for our fellow man.  When we realize it’s all Jesus and he is that Light (Love) and not of ourselves we will begin to Love him more which will produce more Love in us, which will make the light shine brighter.  So the more we realize his Love for us the more we will LOVE,(We Love because he first Loved us) and the more the Light will shine(which is Love)..more because we will realize how much the Father Loves us.  And  his Love will drive us to do good works.  Then and only then will your light shine correctly. And therein is our Father Glorified which is in Heaven.

So Love the Lord with all your heart mind soul and strength and your neighbor as yourself and that Light(Love) will light up a whole city, and it will Glorify our Father which is in Heaven.  You will not be able to hide it under a bushel.   And you will be working more then before.

Paul said “Not I but by the Grace of God I labored more than you all.”

1Jo:2:8: Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth

Let the True Light Shine!