The Christian light

Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

            Christ, the light of the world, says to His followers “you are the light of the world.” There is no real discrepancy between the two statements: the city is lit by lamps and yet it is the electricity that does not it all.

1.      There is first the positive injunction that Christians are to do everything in their power to secure that their light shall shine as brightly as possible.

a.       By the position we take up.

i.                    A lamp on the floor will not send out its rays so widely as if it were suspended from the ceiling.

ii.                  The Christian should connect himself with the church; let this light shine by joining the company of those who confess with their mouths the Lord Jesus.

b.      By the character which we form.

i.                    Character is the most important thing in the world.

ii.                  There is no eloquence so powerful as a good man’s life.

c.       By the exertions we make for the conversion of fellow men.

By these we benefit ourselves; let a man tie up his hand so that it become motionless and by and by it will become withered and powerless like the limb of an Indian devotee.

2.      Look at the negative side of this injunction

a.       We should remove everything that tends either to obscure or to hide out light, or which so affects it as to make it suggestive of ourselves rather than of God

i.                    We should get rid of the undue reserve by which multitudes are characterized.

ii.                  We must keep ourselves clear from all practical inconsistencies.

iii.                We should avoid all self display. The best style in writing is that which gives the thought with such transparency that reader sees nothing else; and that is the noblest Christian character which shows the most of Christ.