Be the Light

One of my favorite quotes by Mahatma Gandhi is, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” I love this quote because it causes us to pause and see how we, individually, are contributing to the world in which we live. It is so easy to cast blame upon each other for the state of the world. However, how are we helping to change it? What are we doing to make positive changes and instill hope? We know that the challenges exist. What are we doing to make things better?

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:14-16, “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.”

In this scripture, Jesus is telling us, His believers, that we are the light of the world. He is telling us that we can create influence and change by our actions because He references that our good works would bring glory to our Father in heaven. It is also important to note that the scripture speaks about not hiding our light. When we choose to remain silent or complacent to the injustices that we see or experience in the world, we are hiding our light. When we refuse to share the Good News of the gospel and its message of hope, we hide our lights. When we make a conscious decision “not get involved in those types of things”, we are hiding our lights. We serve a God who is looking for His people to stand up in this world of darkness and represent Him well by being the light that He called us to be.

2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”

We must gain insight into the influences we have as the ambassadors for Christ. Ambassadors are the highest-ranking representatives of their governments abroad, and their primary responsibility is to represent and work towards the best interests of their government or head of state. They are not elected but selected by the government or head of state. It is a great honor to be chosen as an ambassador. We, too, were bestowed with an enormous honor when God called and chose us to follow Him.

According to Ephesians 1:3-4, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In
love.” As believers, we’re chosen for such a time as this. We know that the love of Christ brings unity and peace. We understand that no one can do everything, but everyone can do something. In Matthew 22:36-40, the disciples asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was. Jesus responded to them, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment”.  The second commandment states, “Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

In a world full of division and hate, we are called to bring unity and peace. In a world filled with hopelessness and despair, we are called to bring hope and healing. There is no doubt that we are living in perilous times. Still, the Lord has given us everything we need to “Be the change that we wish to see in the world”, and the way that we do it is simple.

Just remember to: Be the Light.