My little addition to Our Daily Bread (8/17/12):
You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house.
(Matthew 5:14-15 HCSB)
This is not a parable, suggestion, or even a command to be “the light of the world.” This is a declaration by the Lord that defines His followers as “the light of the world.” The parable begins with the parallels to the city and the lamp. Shining is not optional, but a byproduct of our new nature. How bright we shine (we learn from Christ’s parable) is dependant on our position – standing out for all to see or cowering in hiding. The “city on the hill” was in my imagination is a reference to the crowd there on the mountainside where He was speaking (Matt 5:1) that has shone throughout the generations. I see the lamp referring to each individual and the translucence of his/her lampshade.
…so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life
(Philippians 2:15-16a NIV1984)
A sunbeam, a sunbeam – Jesus wants me for a sunbeam.
A sunbeam, a sunbeam – I’ll be a sunbeam for Him.
(Classic Sunday School Chorus)
- Andy Jentes
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