Light it Up part 2
We are the light of the world. Not because we try really hard to shine... but because even though in the beginning we were dark and void and without form, God spoke and said, "Let there be light!" He lit us up. In Him is life and that life is the light of men. Let me say it another way by quoting one of my favorite (and it took me a whole 2 days before I said a passage of Scripture was my favorite...) passages, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the flory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee" (Isaiah 60:1-2). Notice this--we don't arise and shine in order to MAKE the light come. We arise and shine BECAUSE our light is come! It was dark, but the LORD rose upon us! HE is the light that shines on us and in us and through us and as us. He is the vine and we are the branches. We don't produce the fruit, we simply bear it, or carry it, to those who are hungry. We don't make the light shine, we LET it shine. Remember the song? This little light of mine, I'm gonna LET it shine. As always, all of the emphasis is on God. Not on what we do, but on what He did on the cross. He poured out His Spirit on all flesh and He lit us up with the light that is life. The life that is light. And now watch this: The more light you have, the more life you have. The more life you have, the more light you have. Now I'm not saying we're missing anything, or need anything. We have everything we need. We have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. We have been blessed wtih all Spiritual blessings. We have it all. What I'm saying is that as we fill ourselves with the fulness of what we've been filled with... that's when it comes out naturally. Filled to OVERFLOWING. What's in us coming out of us as we receive it and release it. As we receive it BY releasing it. And here's the best part: "This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5). See, we know that wherever the light shines... darkness flees. But at the same time we spend colossal amounts of energy trying to FIGHT the dark. Let me say it as clearly as I can: If it's true about Jesus it's true about you. We ARE Jesus. God in the flesh. Love in a body. That's our true identity. So if there's no darkness in Him at all... THEN THERE'S NO DARKNESS IN YOU AT ALL. Even when it seems like there is. Even when it feels like there is. Even when you mess up. Messing up doesn't make you fall from grace. Messing up simply means you're the righteousness of God in Christ... who happened to mess up. Your actions don't define you. Your identity defines you. And what's your identity? Someone who shines the light? No exactly. You ARE the light of the world. You DO shine it, but only because you ARE it. You shine the light just by being yourself. Just by loving with the love you are loved with. Not by works and labor, but by a natural flow from a posture of rest. HE lit us up, and now we can't help but shine!