God is light: Jesus described Himself as 'the light of the world', but He told His disciples that they are the light of the world! Does that statement make them like God? No. But it showed that God's purpose is to share His nature and His mission with those who believe in Jesus. The world is a spiritually dark place and left to itself, it cannot see the truth of where it is, where to go or the consequences of staying where it is. That is why God's light is essential. But how will it arrive?

Jesus came to teach God's truth. Blind people were physically healed - a sign that the darkness of sin can be broken by believing in Jesus. But He knew that He would soon leave His mission, of announcing that His saving grace to the world, in the hands of His disciples. They needed to be ready to be outward-facing, truth-declaring messengers. They must not hide but be bold and courageous.

Light must be seen, if it is to do its job. It is pointless to light a lamp and then shut it away. It has to be set in a high place so that it cannot be obscured by other things. Jesus was saying that His disciples needed to be obvious like a fortified hilltop city. The light they had received was too valuable to be kept under cover. It needed to be a beacon for those who had lost their way and a warning to those who thought they could capture and destroy it.

Every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, the members of His church, is the light of the world. That is our spiritual responsibility in a dark world. We are not here to make money, to enjoy ourselves, or to make a name for ourselves. We are the light of the world and we are here to shine out truth and love for God and His world. We will find ourselves close to corruption in order to be God’s agent of transformation. We will sing praise when others complain, work when others have given up, show compassion when nobody else cares and pray when everybody has given up hope. Above that, we will explain to lost people how they can find Jesus, telling the gospel to those who are crushed. It is not that we will be the light of the world; we already are. So get shining today!