Be a Light!

"...Let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven" (Matthew 5:16 NIV). 

If we look at the this entire passage of conversation in which Jesus is telling us how our roles should be seen, we get the picture of being a person who is absolutely necessary in bringing others into the knowledge of God.  In verse 13--we are salt--we have the ability to preserve and stop the bloodshed.  In verse 14--we are light--the light that must shine brightly in a dark world so others can see their way back to Christ.  If they see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven, they are more likely going to accept God's way of doing things. 

So, are the problems we face in the world the fault of the people who don't know God and deny His existence or is it that we have not fulfilled our role?  Are we being the preservative of others' souls we're instructed to be (instructing, advising, being an example)?  Are others seeing our good deeds so we can win them, not by what we say, but by what they see?

This is not an accusation, but it is intended to ignite reflection about how we--who say we believe--do things.  If we are just talking the talk and not walking it, we're wasting our time and the time of those we are attempting to convince.  In the minds of some--we are hypocrites. In the minds of some--we are crazy.  I'd rather be thought crazy--because of my public proclamations of God's goodness than a hypocrite because I'm talking too much or too loud and saying and doing nothing. I'd rather be the light than a partaker of the darkness.

Lord, help me to become a beacon of light in the dark places of souls of all those around me so they will glorify You.