Matthew 5:14-15 (NLT)
14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.”
The holiday season can bring out the best in some people and the worst in others. The celebration of our glorious Savior’s birth should be a sacred time of gratitude, merriment, and reflection, but in many corners, it’s become all about the dollar. It’s become a season of giving gifts, and not remembering the greatest gift from God for all eternity. As “Black Friday” deals drive them to distraction, rather than putting on more of Christ, many believers slip into survival of the fittest attitudes and tactics. They forget that Jesus Christ has called us to be the salt of the earth. We are to be lights in a world that is dark and desperately in need of God’s healing, wholeness, and love. Seeing ourselves in the light of Christ is a prerequisite for ushering in a New Year. Shining the love of his light will take us higher in him, where the blessings we desire will flourish in our lives.
Going higher in Christ is all that matters. If you and I don’t see our walk with God this way, we’re missing out. Missed opportunities is one of the detriments to not viewing our walk with God through the lens of going higher. Our Heavenly Father has strategically positioned each of us. Ephesians 1:11(NLT) says, “Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.” The family we were born into, the people we went to grade-school with, the college we chose, the friends and relationships we have, the place where we work, all of this may seem random to us, but every detail is included in God’s purpose for our lives.
Heavenly Father has woven opportunities within every aspect of our environments, and we need to know this. Our routines and rituals can become so engrained in our minds that we move on automatic. We don’t have to think about what we’re doing because the effort behind the details is habitual. Whether we realize it or not, we miss some things when our routines are programmed to this degree. As believers, we can be so caught up in going through the motions that our praise becomes stale and inauthentic. It’s not seasoned with salt and gratitude, but bland and flat. We must be so careful not to let this happen.
Cynicism, doubt, and bad attitudes will narrow our vision, and selfishness can blind us. We will miss the opportunity to be a blessing and therefore miss the opportunity to receive one. As children of God, we are meant to shine the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ into a world that is steeped in the darkness of sin and condemnation. We are to be people who radiate the light of God’s love and truth, and it is our privilege and responsibility to do this to all those with whom we come in contact. Even if people reject us, we still have a responsibility to let our lights shine.
God said in Isaiah 55:11(NLT), “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” You and I don’t know all the details of God’s plans. We don’t see the enduring impact of the Words of life that we might speak into someone’s existence, and we don’t need to know. What the Father does and how He moves within a person’s circumstances isn’t our business. Our responsibility is to lovingly plant the seed. 1Corinthians 3:6 tells us that the Father is the One that makes it grow.
Matthew 5:14 reminds us that we are children of light, because the light of Christ shines within us. This time of the year is special because it gives us an opportunity to really pour it on in terms of generosity and thoughtfulness. It doesn’t take a whole lot of money to demonstrate the love of God. However, it does require a willingness to bring His love out in the open through kindness and compassion. There are those who desperately need to experience the warmth of the Father’s love, and He has chosen us to show it to them.
Jesus Christ said in Matthew 25:29(NLT), “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.” I know that I’m not the only one that has heard an unmarried person complain about spending the holidays without a significant person in their lives. The love of Christ should motivate us to get off the hamster wheel of same ol’ and do things a little differently. It should motivate us to share the Good News in a greater way. God is all about expansion and increase, and His Word never returns to Him void. It’s the true gift that keeps on giving throughout eternity. He has created us to be givers like Him, and He has commanded us to generously give His love and light to all we know and meet. When this is our commitment and motivation, we’ll light up every New Year, and we’ll witness God’s new and bountiful blessings flourish in our lives. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Light Up the New Year!” written by Kim Times, edited by Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2021. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!