When we are shining the light in the darkness, the lost will be drawn to us so that we can point them to the cross where sins are defeated. When we are shining the light of God’s love and grace in a world of anger and hatred, people will come. When the joy of the Lord is beaming from our countenance like a beacon of hope in a broken world, they will be drawn to the light.
In our text, Paul reminds us that we cannot be part-time believers. We can’t just do right when we think the pastor is watching, or another church member is watching us. We need to know that through the grace of God working in us, we can and should be full-time believers.
After the Parable of the Soils, the Gospel of Mark records the Parable of the Lamp. On the surface, what Jesus says here is self-evident: “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand?” (v. 21). This simply means that no one lights a lamp and then shoves it under his bed or puts it under a basket because that would defeat the purpose of having a lamp. Instead, a lamp is lit to shine a light, and to be most effective it is elevated on a stand it so that the light can fill the room.
FIRST JOHN: TRUTH IN A WORLD OF DECEPTION “Let the Love-Light Shine” By Mark E. Hardgrove, PhD Text: 1 John 2:7-11, NKJV 7 Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. 8 Again, a...
