Matthew 5:14-15
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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.
Jesus is addressing his people. You will notice that he says to us, “you are the light of the world.” He does not say you must become the light of the world, or you can be if you want to be. As believers in Jesus, we have the light of the gospel for a world lost in the darkness of sin and hopelessness. We have love from God and for God. With the astounding blessings of God, we also have love for others. That is all light for the world.
From his illustration, Jesus’ concern is that this light should be seen. The temptation we face is to hide, who we are and what we have in Jesus, from the world around us. We do that by blending into the darkness of our world when mixing with those who don’t yet believe in Jesus. We also obscure the light by avoiding the rest of the world and fleeing to our Christian ghettos at every opportunity.
Jesus is not asking us to do anything particularly spectacular here. He just wants us to live a normal Christian life wherever we might be. We are perpetually, to trust in Jesus, love God, love our neighbour, and speak of the amazing grace of God as opportunities arise.
