Matthew 5: 14-16

Alistair Johnson considers the need for Christians to live their faith in public as well as private

Alistair Johnson
Alistair Johnson

I have recently been to watch The Amazing Spiderman 2 and loved it. To be honest I love most every superhero film out there. I love the very concept of saving the world and defeating an enemy. I love hearing about the battle between good and evil, between light and dark, right and wrong.

Many times I have listened to preachers and read about a battle between light and dark, good and evil and right and wrong. I have been thinking about this for a little while now. I wonder if you have sat in a room and worried when you flicked the light switch if light really will defeat the darkness in the room? Worried that darkness will actually win out; that it will be all encompassing and there will not be enough light to do the things you need to do?

I currently live in Burslem and as an adopted Stokie I continually hear stats about how bad Stoke is; whether it is the rise in teenage pregnancy or rise in unemployment or rise in empty shops on the high street. Things don't look good in Stoke. I was really challenged when I listened to Banning Liebscher who is the Director of Jesus Culture. He spoke and said that no city is darker than any other; they only face different challenges. He quoted Matthew 5: 14-16:

"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

In the war between light and dark, light always wins. The problem comes when we haven't switched the light on. We just need to turn on our passion. We need to go from being people who are interested in Jesus to being people who have lives turned upside down by Jesus; who have had their priorities transformed, dreams realigned and hearts made new through the love of God.

We need to go from being people who are full of information, to people who are full of revelation. Information only knows it, revelation is about experiencing it. When we fall madly in love with Jesus, then the light can do nothing but shine; no longer will it be hidden. No longer will it be just what we do on a Sunday or what we do when no-one else is watching.

The light of Jesus isn't just for our private lives, to be kept hidden for those times that suit us. No, in fact God continually challenges His people about allowing the light to shine into our public lives as well. We need to be people of the light. Light will ALWAYS defeat darkness. It is a well-known fact that the light from a struck match can be seen for a quarter of a mile in complete darkness. If something so small has such an impact what can the light of Jesus do?

I will not speak badly of my city and now I am challenged to speak more positively about it and begin to let my light shine before men. Darkness will never win. Light ALWAYS wins. CR

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.