Hiding in The Light
.for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
Ephesians 5:8
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
Christians have the Holy Spirit, the assurance of salvation, and the hope of heaven. Many seem to think that with salvation comes the end to their concerns in this life. They are on their way to heaven so they can now skate through life; they can just hunker down and await the return of Christ.
Indeed, I am a new creature. In God’s grace He has taken many of my old habits and released me from them (things like bad language, and quick words). I do eagerly await the return of Christ. But that hunkering down thing is not biblical. As I learn more of God’s Word I realize that there are a whole host of responsibilities that come with being a child of God. If I am hunkered down, hiding from the world, I will give Him no glory!
When we become new creatures in Christ it is because, in His mercy, He died for our sin. It is because of His love for us that we can have the assurance of salvation and the hope of heaven. What the Bible says is that He bought us at a price (1 Corinthians 6:20), the price He paid was His life. One of the things that God does in our conversion is give us a strong desire to show love and gratitude in return. We understand that He is worthy of all of the praise and glory and service we can possibly offer Him because He died for us.
God can and does make miraculous changes in people. His grace is greater than all my sin and His love more than I could ever have asked for. So, why would I want to take that and hide away with it? In gratitude, should we not want to broadcast far and wide that His great love is alive and well in us?
Proverbs 4:26-27 say, “Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.” It seems that if we would ponder the path we are taking we would recognize if we are living that hunkered down “quiet faith” that Satan encourages or if we are being the light that Jesus calls us to in Matthew 5:14-16: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
We are to be lamps that give light to all in our homes. This seems to say that our first priority is that our own families should see the Light of Christ in us. If we are hunkered down, not concerning ourselves with the work of the Lord, not even opening the door to let others into the light of that Lamp, how are we letting others see anything that will give God glory? To be quiet about our faith is to leave others in the dark.
Our salvation is a wonderful gift from God but it is not a gift we are to keep to ourselves, we are to share it with any and all who will come far enough into to the Light to see the glory of God that we reflect in our good works or hear our words of testimony to His mercy.
Do others see our Light or are we leaving them in the dark as we hide behind closed doors?