“In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men” (John 1:4).

I wrote recently about Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night, how my friend John once pointed out that while all the houses in the painting had their lights on, the church was dark.  That stayed with me for an entire day, and even as I drifted off to sleep it remained upon my mind.  

I wonder how many, and to what degree, churches in America are without their lights? And, knowing that the church is not a building per se, but people, individuals who comprise the body of Christ, how many of my fellow believers are without the light of Christ in them?  

I was thinking of the nature of light.  There are two aspects to it; one, it dispels darkness, and two, the eye is naturally attracted to it.  From these I conclude the following:  if darkness encroaches upon the church, it is because it has no light; and if on the other hand it has light, the world is drawn to it.  

John spoke of bringing the world to us–to the church that is.  I wondered at that, as the mandate is for us to go to the world (see Matthew 28:18-20).  And in the course of our conversations around this theme I understood, I think, what he was saying.  Another friend, our missions director, put it this way and in these terms:  we bring the world to us with “podcasts, shows, online bits, media, etc., with a prayed up strategy that makes transformation through God’s word possible for anyone that gets plugged in.”  Okay, I get that.  I think of The Billy Graham Association’s internet evangelism program; from what I read about it it is a very fruitful ministry.  

John, in a lengthly response spoke of leveraging our church’s global network to solve major world problems such as affordable housing, clean air and drinking water.  

As for me, I cannot escape that dark church in Starry Night.  The Lord Jesus warns, “Watch out that the light in you is not darkness” (Luke 11:35).  Christians have a responsibility to be who God has called them to be.  What is that?  “The light of the world.”

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 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” (Matthew 5:14-16).  

If indeed Christ is the Light of men and He dwells in His people, then it is our job to let that light shine.  And shining as it does, it naturally attracts the attention of those around it.  If we are not of the sort to hide it, or otherwise permit it not to be seen, the world sees it and God gets the glory in return.  

How then to let it shine?  Jesus here associates light with deeds; we first allow the light in us to shine by virtue of observable good deeds, things that we do that attract attention and that the world itself, unredeemed as it is, considers good.  These would be deeds that directly benefit the recipients and are identifiable as being from God.   

If we need examples, the New Testament is chock full of them.  Perhaps they are best summarized by a statement made by Peter in Acts chapter 10,

“You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” (verse 38 italics mine).  

I think it clear that Peter was referring to the things he personally witnessed Jesus doing, of which we have an accurate account in the four Gospels.  To put it more succinctly, we do the very same things Jesus did, and in so doing our light shines.  

How else?  Live as God intends–that is to say, live holy lives.  

I cannot help but think of some things Don Federer said in his book, A Jewish Conservative Looks at Pagan America.  

“The Jewish mission is precisely to talk about God, to make humanity aware of His dominion, to remind us of the necessity of God-based ethics.  Absent that, there is no logical reason for the continued existence of the Jewish people.”

He goes on to say,

“What then is our mission?  To lead uniquely Jewish lives, lives dedicated to charity, piety and virtue, to living the tenets of Jewish law.  To teach by our example.  Like a pebble thrown into the middle of a lake, Torah Jews can have a ripple effect on those around them, just by acting the way a people should, but rarely do behave.  To testify to God’s presence in the world.”

Now I understand Federer here speaks of Jews, what he believes to be the Jewish mission; but his words no less describe the mandate given us by the Lord Himself.  

It has been said that a man cannot be saved by observing deeds alone–there must be words; but he can be attracted to the one doing the deeds.  That is the point.  We let our light shine by virtue of what we do, and by reason of who we are–being, consciously, intentionally, who God made us to be:  the light of the world.  Light-bearers.  

The light of the church, its windows darkened, must be turned on.  The call of God is to be a city set upon a hill.  

I close with a prophetic picture of what this looks like–the world coming to us, to the house of God, the church,

“Now it will come about that

In the last days

The mountain of the house of the Lord

Will be established as the chief of the mountains,

And will be raised above the hills;

And all the nations will stream to it.

And many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

To the house of the God of Jacob;

That He may teach us concerning His ways

And that we may walk in His paths” (Isaiah 2:2-3 italics mine).  

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11).  

I sit and I stare.  I look up all the related verses.  I read what the commentators have to say.  In this singular verse is pretty much all a man needs to know.  

“The Lord God is a sun.”  That is to say, He provides light; He is Light.  There is no darkness with God.  All He is and does is as far from dark as you can get–infinitely distanced from all that is considered to be darkness.  He shines brightly upon those who are His, who have come under His glorious sunshine. He is the “sun of righteousness” (Malachi 4:2).  In His light we see light (Psalm 36:9).  He is our light and our salvation (Psalm 27:1).  We are instructed to arise and shine ourselves, for our Light has come (Isaiah 60:1).  Though darkness covers the earth, and deep darkness the peoples, the Lord always rises upon His people.  Though clouds may fill the sky, even dark clouds of gloom and doom, yet upon His chosen beams of bright light shine down upon His godly ones.  

“The Lord God is a shield.”  God spoke to Abraham our father and said, “I am a shield to you” (Genesis 15:1).  What He was to Abraham, He is to us; as through Jesus Christ the blessing of Abraham belongs to we his children through faith.  Psalm 91 reads, “His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.”  Wherefore?  He delivers us from the “snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence.”  Who among men can provide us with better protection than God Himself?  Paul speaks of the shield faith.  This is not less than the belief that the Lord God is our shield.  We trust Him to protect us from the “flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16)–even extinguishing them as they hit this shield who is the Lord.  Because we trust Him so, we will “not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day; or of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.”  Because we “have made the Lord, even the Most High, (our) dwelling place (behind the shield that He is), no evil will befall us, nor will any plagues come near our tent” (Psalm 91:5-6, 9-10).  

“The Lord gives grace.”  Of this Matthew Henry writes, “What is grace, but heaven begun below, in the knowledge, love, and service of God?”  Meaning, grace is a taste of heaven on earth.  Under the New Covenant, we who are of Jesus Christ have had this grace “lavished upon us.”  We have found out that God’s grace is “sufficient for us.”  We are taught that God is able to “make all grace abound to us, that always having all we need, we may have an abundance for every good deed.”  Not only in the here and now do we receive grace for salvation, but it (God’s grace) will be ours to enjoy in the ages to come–and there are ages to come.  And what, pray tell, is grace?  It has been defined in so many ways, but the chief meaning is God’s undeserved favor.  He has caused His face to shine upon us, and when God looks at you you can well be assured that all His love, all His goodness, all His power is all yours to have and enjoy.

“The Lord gives us glory.”  When I think of glory, I think of God’s presence.  “His glory filled the temple.”  I think of God’s people, concerning whom Paul writes that God’s glory is in His saints (Ephesians 1:18).  And Henry says, “What is glory, but the completion of this happiness, in being made like to him, and in fully enjoying him for ever?”  So it is that the glory of God is the presence of God inside every believer by reason of the Holy Spirit in them.  When we look upon a fellow Christian, there we see God’s glory.  And oh for the tangible presence of God–there is not a better feeling this side of heaven.  Indeed, it is heaven’s atmosphere given us to taste upon earth.  And for sure, God’s glory is the glory and majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ, who said, “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one” (John 17:22).  Meaning, what Jesus Christ has by way of glory, we have right now.  “As He is so are we in this world.”  The glory of God is upon us, saints.  God gives it, and it is glorious!

“No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”  And what is the catchword here? “Uprightly.”  This promise is for those “who walk uprightly.”  Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary helps us understand the meaning of this:

When yashar (the Hebrew word) pertains to people, it is best translated “just” or “upright.” God is the standard of uprightness for His people: “Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way” (Ps. 25:8). His word (Ps. 33:4), judgments (Ps. 19:9), and ways (Hos. 14:9) reveal His uprightness and are a blessing to His people. The believer follows Him in being “upright” in heart: “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous; and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart” (Ps. 32:11; cf. 7:10; 11:2). In their daily walk they manifest that they are walking on the narrow road: “The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation” (Ps. 37:14). The “just” are promised God’s blessing upon their lives (Prov. 11:10-11).

To summarize, we live and walk in a way that pleases God–i.e., by faith–and that is modeled after the Lord Himself and His holy word.  We are men and women of integrity.  We so order our lives so as to conform to God’s will and ways.  We keep our hearts; we stay on the straight and narrow, fixing our eyes on Jesus.  We keep the commandments of the Lord, remaining humble before Him.  

The outcome?  God does not withhold anything good from us.  He supplies both our needs and wants–assuming they are good, that is; God does not give us what is harmful to us, the bad things; of this we can be confident. He is sovereign and has our best interests at heart.  

In this one verse, then, is pretty much all we need–indeed, all we need!  God is our light.  God is our shield.  God gives us grace.  He gives us glory.  He does not withhold a thing from us that He considers good.  

“My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place” (John 18:36).  

The kingdom over which Jesus is King, and of which we who believe are a part, is from another place; it is not of this world, but of heaven.  It is, as it revealed to us in Matthew’s Gospel, the kingdom of heaven.  Or, in the others, the kingdom of God.  

There is another kingdom–there are but two: the kingdom of darkness, and we know who is the king over that one.  Thanks be to God that we, the believers, have been transferred from the one to the other.  That makes us from another place as well.  

Christians ought recognize that their association with the Christ places them in a category outside the realm of this world.  The Lord, on the night He was betrayed, prayed thus concerning His disciples, “they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.” And again, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.” 

Apparently, this slipped Peter’s mind as he drew his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant.  And no doubt when he denied the Lord three times, too.

Paul writes, “Our citizenship is in heaven.” That is to say, and this is my point, Christians are other-worldly.  We are not of this world, but have been redeemed out of this world. We now, every single one of us, belong to another realm. We should be conscious of this, and carry ourselves accordingly.  

Christ’s kingdom, being from another place, a heavenly one, is completely opposite to the earthly one.  They are as different as oil and water, as darkness from light. Whereas in some cultures where the leaven of the kingdom has had its effect, there is still some semblance of the heavenly rule in place.  But, as in the United States, it is quickly dissipating.  In Asia Minor it is gone, just as in most of Europe as well.  

Christ’s kingdom is the antitheses of Satan’s, and Satan is the one who rules the world of men (see 1 John 5:19).  Not for long, though!  

Christ’s kingdom, inaugurated at His first coming, is on the march.  Though it spread like wildfire at its onset, overtaking the entire known world in but a few centuries, it seemed to have diminished.  There were the dark ages.  Then came the resurgence.  There was the Reformation.  There were the great awakenings in England and America.  The Holy Spirit was poured out at Azusa Street. He moved mightily upon the youth in the 1960’s and 1970’s.  I understand that there are more people coming to Jesus now than at any point in the history of Christianity.  Daniels’s vision of a rock being cut out (but not with human hands) and becoming a huge mountain filling the earth is fully in play.  One day, soon, there will be one kingdom, not two; and one King, not two.  That is our hope and prayer.

The kingdom of Jesus Christ, not from here, has its own laws, its own ways, its own culture.  We have these embodied in the New Testament.  In what we call The Sermon on the Mount, for example, we have an overview of it.  With the balance of Jesus’ teachings, and those of the ones appointed by Him, we have all we need to live and walk in a completely different way. The Lord expects this of us.  

This kingdom is to take precedence over everything else.  Including our needs and wants. Jesus tells us to seek it first. To make it our priority, with other things common to men taking a back seat.  

Inasmuch as He is above, and we are there with Him (because we are united with Him in spirit), our lives should be characterized by a heavenly quality, just as His was.  There is something very different, and very attractive to the hungry soul, about a kingdom man or woman. That is why crowds were drawn to Jesus, and especially those who knew their need.  

No doubt I could say more, but the main point, I think, is to view ourselves as being from another place.  Not that we are better than the unredeemed, but that we are redeemed. How we think, speak, and act should reflect whose we are, and from whence we came.  Yes, we were born of the flesh; we are human beings just like everyone else.  But that is our only commonality. In reality, we are, by virtue of the new birth, sons and daughters of the Living God; heavenly ones, majestic ones (Psalm 16), revived spiritual beings, citizens of another realm.  From another place.