“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).