SHOW: THE LIGHT

THE PRAYER      

• Find a quiet space.      
• Breathe deeply and recognise God with you in this moment.      
• When you are ready, speak to God about this time together.      
• After you've finished praying, go through the following passage a few times slowly and thoughtfully (preferably out loud).   
• Allow God to meet you in these words.

God, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course. Give me insight so I can do what you tell me- my whole life one long, obedient response. Guide me down the road of your commandments; I love traveling this freeway! Psalm 119: 33-35 (MSG)

THE FIRST READING

Read this passage slowly (preferably out loud) as you allow God to meet you in these words. Pay attention to anything God might be saying as you do.

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. 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. Matthew 5:13-16 (ESV)

RESPONSE

Take some time to respond (write down, draw, pray, etc.) to God’s prompting in the first reading of the passage. What is he highlighting and saying to you through this?

THE SECOND READING

Read the passage again (slowly and preferably out loud) through the “lens” of what The Spirit highlighted in the first reading. Listen for anything else the Spirit might be saying.

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. 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. Matthew 5:13-16 (ESV)

THE REFLECTION

I live in South Africa, a beautiful country in so many ways. However, one of the challenges of being South African is having to deal with regular power failures. You could be enjoying a nice evening meal when suddenly the electricity dies without warning. When this happens it’s not the absence of electricity I mind so much, it’s the tedious task of having to navigate your way across the living room in the dark. Shins have a way of finding coffee tables even in rooms you thought you knew well. And so, you walk slowly, hands reaching out in front of you, hoping you won't kick something in the process. Then, just as suddenly as the electricity went off it comes back on. Light blinds you as it bursts into the room revealing all the furniture your shins were trying to avoid.

This is the picture Jesus is painting for us when he calls us the light of the world.

He knows that people all over the planet are fumbling around in darkness, walking slowly, arms outstretched, desperately trying not to kick something with their shins. As followers of Jesus, our presence is supposed to light up that darkness. Not by creating something new, but by revealing something old. Something ever-present but often overlooked.

Something called The Kingdom of God.

This Kingdom (God's reality) is among us. Here in this moment, buried like a seed in the soil of human hearts, waiting to be revealed by those who are its ambassadors. Everywhere we go our job is simple. To look beyond the surface of things, to see the hidden truth of God’s reality waiting in the people and communities we serve, and to call it out. To declare in word and deed that “this is not all there is," that another world is possible, precisely because that world is, in so many ways, already here.

As you think about the people and places that fill your world, consider where God might be inviting you to be a light there. Which forgotten people or which abandoned spaces is God calling you into, as a reminder to those trapped in the darkness that another world is possible?

You are the light of the world.