Be The Light They Need

Be The Light They Need

Matthew 4:16 “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.”

Recently I decided to start at the beginning of the New Testament and read a little bit each day of the New Testament. My Encounter Ministries class was big on evangelization and spreading the good news of the Gospel. They taught us various ways to do this. However, it is hard to spread the good news of the Gospel if you don’t know the Gospel. I do know the Gospel. I have been through the whole Bible several times through different Bible studies and Bible reading plans.

However, if we immerse ourselves in God's word, it will not only become a part of us, but it will transform us. The words, the stories, and the feelings will become ingrained in our very being, and we won’t be able to forget them. The central message of the Gospel is love. This love is not just a feeling, but a powerful force that can change lives and draw people closer to God. God's love for us, and our love for Him, is a concept that was revolutionary in its time. The Jewish people knew that God loved them because He had saved them time and time again and also because His Spirit was with them when they escaped Egypt.

Many people who lived at the time of Jesus didn’t believe in our God. They believed in multiple Gods who did not love them. The gods they prayed to also required a lot from them. They had to perform human sacrifices in some cases. They thought their gods received their power from the worship and sacrifices. The more people who worshiped them, the more powerful they were. Their God’s expected love and allegiance from them.

Then they discovered this God who loved them just as they were, and they didn’t need to do anything to earn that love, which was a game changer. This love is not a passive feeling but an active, unconditional, and sacrificial love. I believe this would be a game-changer for many of us if we truly believed it. If we truly understood that God loves us as His own adopted sons and daughters, we would live life differently. If we could truly grasp this concept that God loves us just as we are, then we could stop trying to earn that love; we could stop trying to live up to these impossible standards that we put on ourselves.

God loves you just as you are. He doesn’t need you to live up to any standards. He doesn’t need you to do anything to earn that love. His love is there for you when you are at your best and when you are at your worst. God is always there for you. That is the first part of the message found in the Bible, and it is one we must not only believe but also trust in and live our lives accordingly by showing the same love to others, forgiving as we have been forgiven, and serving as we have been served.

This brings us to one major message of the Gospel that we tend to overlook or ignore. That is, we are all called to love each other. This can be a challenging call a lot of the time. There are a lot of people in the world who are not very nice. Or at least they act in ways that are not loving. But we are still called to love them, just as God loves us. God is not calling us just to love our family or friends or those who are easy to love. He is calling us to love all those around us, even our enemies.

The verse above says, “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light has dawned.” Jesus was a light to all who lived in the darkness. He brought this love that they had never seen before. God’s love is unconditional and unending, and Jesus shared this love with one and all. This love that Jesus shared was such a bright light in their darkness. Some of the people Jesus interacted with were people who were cast aside by society. They were outcasts, and they felt unloved.

Imagine how it was to be a leper in that day and age. They had to live apart from their whole community, and if anyone did walk near them, they needed to shout “unclean, unclean” So that people wouldn’t get too close to them. Can you imagine Jesus coming up to you and giving you a hug after you haven’t had any human contact in years for fear of infecting them or because of the laws? Imagine that light that Jesus brought into that situation when He healed them or even when he wasn’t afraid to touch them. He gave them their dignity back when he was around them. That is a bright light.

We can all agree that Jesus was a great light in the darkness. Do you know who is called to be that light now that Jesus is no longer walking around on this planet? You are, I am! We are all called to be “little Christs.” We are called to be a reflection of Christ to all those we meet. In John 13:35, says, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” Do you want to be a disciple of Christ? If so, we need to love one another. We need to be that light in the darkness. This doesn’t tell us exactly how we should do this, but if we follow Christ’s example, then this means we accept people for who they are. We love them exactly as they are without conditions. We don’t call people names. We don’t judge them and decide what we think of what they did. We simply accept them for who they are. This doesn’t mean you can’t lovingly point out when something is wrong, but first, you must love them unconditionally, or they won’t be able to hear your kind correction. You must always come from a place of love and not a place of chastisement or a place of wanting to be right.

If there was one thing that could change the world, it would be this one thing: If we could learn to love all the people around us, think about how much better the world would be. If we could love those around us, we could stop taking offense to everything they say because we know it is coming from a place of love. If we could help spread more love, then we would also be spreading more light. If we could spread more love and light into the world, there would be no room for hate. The light would chase that darkness away. Will you spread some light today? Who could you love today that you haven’t in the past? Even if you don’t approach the person, change your thoughts to loving thoughts. That would be a great start.

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to the episode today. Lord, we love you, and we thank you for all you do for us. We ask you to help us love more. Help us love everyone, even those who are difficult to love. Help us bring your light to all those sitting in the darkness. Help us see through appearances and see what you see. Give us your heart and your eyes for people, Lord. We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name. Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. Tonight is week #2 of our Surrender Series. There is a link below for my website. I invite you to check out the mentoring information and join us this evening on Zoom. I look forward to meeting some of you on Zoom this evening, and the rest of me will meet you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day!

Today’s Word from the Lord was received in January 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email [email protected]. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “I am your God, and I can help you. No matter the problem, remember that I am God, and you need to rely on me for each step of the way.”

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