In Matthew 5: 14 – 16, Jesus said, “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.”

Jesus was delivering a message that we call the Sermon on the Mount. He had just told his listeners that they are the “salt of the earth”. Those whose lives will preserve the faith and add the flavour of God to a lost world. Now he is calling them light.

On a different occasion Jesus said “I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life” (John 8: 12). He said this after refusing to condemn a woman caught in adultery. Instead, Jesus chose to highlight the hypocrisy of her accusers. It is a dark world where condemnation and self-righteousness rule, but Jesus is a different kind of leader. His ministry is one of light. In His kingdom, there is life, hope, love and forgiveness.

It was some time before this incident that Jesus sat on a mountain and preached the Sermon on the Mount, teaching new followers that they will be the light of the world. Their lives will reveal a kingdom different to the world around them. A kingdom of life, hope, love and forgiveness.

And He speaks that message to us today. We are the light of the world. Our destiny is to shine a light of life, hope, love and forgiveness in the darkness around us.

We can do this by the things that we do.

Being salty is who we are (Who we are in Jesus); being light is what we do

What do we do? We let the light shine. We do not cover it up. We don’t hide it. We hold it up. We let it illuminate the house.

A light bulb doesn’t create its own light, it is hooked up to a source of power and it shines. Unapologetically. The good it does is seen by others, not to bring glory to itself but to fulfill the purpose for which it was made.

So, we too are called to shine. Unapologetically. To be “in Christ”, full of the Holy Spirit, and so hooked up to the source of power. To do good deeds that glorify our Father in Heaven

What sort of good deeds? What did Jesus mean? Many things have been suggested by followers of Jesus over the years, but let’s start with declaring truth. Light is a word often used in the Bible to describe the revelation of God’s Word. We declare truth. Truth is then accompanied by love – love, with its multifaceted faces of God’s attributes: patience, kindness, generosity, mercy, forgiveness and so much more.

As these attributes inspire good deeds, they reveal our Father in Heaven. “let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”