John the Baptist, as great as he was, was not the light of the world. As the apostle John wrote, "He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light" (Jn 1:8). Jesus alone was the light that came to dispell the darkness, "The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world [Jesus]" (v. 9).
And yet, speaking to his followers in Matthew 5:14a, Jesus said, "You are the light of the world." How so? How can we be what John was not and only Jesus could be? The same way the moon can give light that only the sun can make - reflect it.
"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ" (2 Cor 4:6).
When we receive the light of Christ's presence into our hearts by grace, it begins to show in our daily walk and in our talk. People begin to see Christ in us and are drawn by the beauty of Christ within. It is not our persuasive ways or our towering intellect that convinces others of Christ, it is that words and lives reflect the true spirit of Christ.
We are not charged with attracting others to Him, Christ will accomplish that task himself when we allow his Spirit to shine out of our lives: "And I, when I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself" (John 12:32). Jus' Sayn.
No comments:
Post a Comment