“Do all things without murmurings and disputing: that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain” – Philippians 2:14-16
LIGHT FOR NOW: Christ is light and he in the believer makes the believer light.
In the gospel of John, Jesus is called “the true light, which gives light to everyone” (John 1:9). Throughout the New Testament, the followers of Jesus are called to be lights in the darkness. It thus shows us that as he is, so are we. He is light, and we are light. He is the father of light and we are the children of light. Having seen that Jesus is the light and that he has made us lights, then our light shining before men for them to see our good works will not be fundamentally a conduct text as many suppose it to be. “Arise and shine” in Isaiah 60:1 will not be about good conducts shining since conduct is not the light but the person of Jesus who is light and has made us lights. In Matthew 5:16, God tells us “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in heaven”. If he says let your light so shine before men, it will thus connote that men don’t have the light.
And these men here can’t be the believers because believers are of the light and are lights, so interpreting it as good conduct before other believers is out of place here. If light relates to Christ and salvation by implication, then it takes salvation to have the light. The men that he says our light should shine before will be the men without light; men destitute of the light and thus, in need of light. And he calls the shining of the light good works and that’s not conduct vested. Faith in Christ makes us lights, conducts doesn’t make us light. However, as we walk in the light, in our nature or in the spirit, good conducts gain ascendancy over bad conducts; bad conducts decelerate while good conducts accelerate. God conducts does not make you a light, Jesus makes your light; but as you walk in the light (your nature), conducts changes gradually in alignment to your nature. Glory!
INSTRUCTION: You are light, walk in the light!
CONFESSION: I am begotten of my father who is light, light is my very DNA. Therefore, I walk in light.
QUOTE: Christ in you is light in you.
DAILY READING: MORNING: HEBREWS CHAPTER 2; EVENING: 2CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 2