Rev. J. Loren Russell
Matthew 5:14-16 NKJV
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
When you are the light, you don’t worry about darkness. In fact, if there was no darkness there would be no reason for light. According to scripture, you are not reflecting the light, you are the personification of light, you are the embodiment of light, you are the light! This is not my opinion; it is confirmed in the word of God.
I was feeling a bit let down the other day. Maybe you’ve been there too when you felt unappreciated and disregarded. Maybe you have been made aware of someone talking disparagingly about you behind your back. Because you saw no change in behavior, actions, or attitudes, and after all your hard work, all your efforts to make life better for others, you began feeling like you were wasting your time and your effort. Maybe your light was shining but the darkness would not retreat.
All of that and then some crowded my mind on Thursday morning. I could have been suffering from post-mortem blues because the day before was the anniversary of my mother’s death. While I can’t pinpoint the cause, I woke up feeling like my light was being overwhelmed by the darkness. Maybe you’ve been there before. Thank God for my morning devotional time. I read the daily devotional from Iyanla Vanzant’s book, Until Today and read, “Life will work for me when I realize… I am the light of the world!” In that devotional, she stated,
“When you are the light, you cannot complain about the darkness. The only thing you can do is shine. You must shine brightly, in everything you do, in everyplace you go. That is your job. When you are the light, you must realize that without the darkness you would have no meaning. You must also understand that just because there is darkness does not mean you are not doing what you are supposed to do.”
That did it for me! I was rejuvenated and back to shining as lights do. How people reacted to what I said or to what I do does not matter. What people say about me that is not true does not matter. Whether the darkness retreats or not does not matter. All that matters is that I remain the light of the world. Let me be clear, the light that I am is the light the Lord God Almighty has placed within me. If I can personalize this, it is my duty and responsibility, according to scripture to “Let my light so shine before men, that they may see my good works and glorify my Father in heaven.”
I must continue to shine without expectation of seeing the darkness fade or receiving recognition for being the light. As was evidenced on Thursday morning, should I fail to let my light shine, I run the risk of missing an opportunity to glorify our Father in heaven. What about you? Is your light shining?
Be Blessed!
Rev. J. Loren Russell is an associate minister at Goodwill Baptist Church and is the spiritual leader of the Evangelical Church of God, both in the Bronx, President/CEO of The JLR Company/J Loren R Consulting, LLC for Church Financial & Strategic Consulting (718-328-8096) and is the producer and host of “Matters of Faith – The Radio Show” on Monday nights from 8:00 – 10:00 PM on Facebook Live. Be sure to ‘Friend’ the Matters of Faith YouTube Channel. Email us at mattersoffaith.mof@gmail.com. Order your copy of Matters of Faith: The eBook at www.smashwords.com/books/view/993177
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