Hidden Lights

..for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
Ephesians 5:8

Christians have the Holy Spirit, the assurance of salvation, and the hope of heaven.

Many seem to think that with salvation comes the end to their concerns in this life. They are on their way to heaven so they can now skate through life as they just hunker down and await the return of Christ.

In God’s grace He takes many of our old habits and releases us from things that kept us in bondage before our salvation. We can anticipate the second coming of Christ (whenever that might be) and the hope of heaven.

So, that hunkering down that so many seem to be doing has me concerned. The more I learn, the more I understand of the day to day responsibilities of the Christian life. If I am hunkered down, hiding from the world, I will give God no glory!

When we become new creatures in Christ it is because, in His mercy, Christ died for our sin. What the Bible says is that He bought us at a price (1 Corinthians 6:20); the price He paid was His life. One of the things that God does in our conversion is give us a strong desire to show love and gratitude in return. We understand that He is worthy of all of the praise and glory and service we can possibly offer Him because of His sacrifice.

When we think of His love and mercy, why would we want to take that and hide away with it? In gratitude, should we not want to broadcast far and wide that His great love is alive and well in us?

It seems that if we would ponder the path we are taking (Proverbs 4:26-27) we would recognize we are either A) living that hunkered down “quiet faith” that Satan encourages or B) we are being the light that Jesus calls us to in Matthew 5:14-16:

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Scripture tells us to be lamps that give light to all in our homes. This seems to say that our first priority is that our own families should see the Light of Christ in us. If we are hunkered down, not concerning ourselves with the work of the Lord, not even opening the door to let others into the light of that Lamp, how are we letting others see anything that will give God glory?

To be quiet about our faith is to leave others in the dark.

Our salvation is a wonderful gift from God but it is not a gift we are to keep hidden. How can we get our lights out from their hidden positions under that basket and into the world for others to see?