Lighting Up EveryoneSample

Our Brightness

Shining is our greatest and most important mission. Our shine comes from the light of Christ in us. The more of Christ's life there is in us who are God's children, the more shine there is in each of our lives. This shine isn't about how great and wonderful we are; this shine isn't about titles, possessions, or greatness.

On the contrary, this shine is the result of a humble heart, obedience to the Father, the sacrifice of our own self, and the breaking of our own will. A life that constantly seeks God’s face and has as its greatest desire to please Him is a life in which the Lord's light shines.

"How the gold has lost its luster, the fine gold become dull! The sacred gems are scattered at every street corner.” Lam. 4:1 (NIV) The prophet Jeremiah said these words to refer to the disastrous situation that God's people fell into because of their continuous disobedience.

To lose your shine—what a sad thing! How does something so terrible happen in a believer's life? How does a Christian's shine fade and become dull? Can that shine really be taken away? It certainly can, which is why Jeremiah lamented for his people. This is what happened to Judah, to the point where the gold became dull. Not the precious metal, but the precious life of God's people.

The word that sums up the tragic situation that overcame them is sin. Sin, like a small snowball, slid down until it became a devastating avalanche that led them to ruin. This horrible outcome was announced beforehand by the Lord's prophets, whom the people despised and didn't listen to.

It's true that not all that glitters is gold, but gold that doesn't shine loses its glory. The enemy's deception is very subtle. His tricks work when, little by little, he gains ground, cleverly clouding the shine that sets apart a believer's life and their testimony as a child of God. Conversations, friendships, places, habits, and things that seem insignificant slowly become part of our lives, without us realizing how our shine is fading.

Let's take care of God's shine in us. What other shine can even come close to the brilliance that the life of Christ brings to us? May our prayer be, "Lord, help me to shine for the blessing of the world and for the glory of Your name." That's the mission for every believer. If we all shined as the Lord wants, how much light would illuminate this world, how much brilliance the church He bought with His blood would have.

“Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.” Luke 11:36 (NIV)