14"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

There is something truly magical about seeing a city lit up at night from a distance. My wife and I did some exploring of west Seattle this weekend and found a place across the water from downtown that gave us the perfect view of the city as day turned into night. As we watched the lights get brighter and brighter a passage of scripture came to my mind and I wanted to share it with you this week.

In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus begins his famed Sermon on the Mount. In the span of three chapters, He works his way through many issues that are core to who and what we are as believers. As Disciples of Christ, we are identified here as light, but notice that being precedes doing. It is because we are the light that we are expected to live in such a way that our actions show others the light.

In the first century this metaphor was very easy to understand because when a lamp was lit it was usually put up high on a stand or set to hang from the center of a room so as to cast the largest amount of light possible throughout the home. It was understood that if you put the light close to the floor or in a corner, partially hidden, it would not effectively blanket the room with light.

So when Jesus tells his disciples that they are the light of the world, he is telling them that they represent the truth of salvation that has come into the world, and that they are indispensable, just as light is. We take it for granted but without light, the world ceases to exist as we know it. It is a vital part of our existence.

If we as disciples of Christ are to fulfill our calling, we have to be the light in this world so that it will not be left in darkness. We are to be as a city on a hill. It is unthinkable that a city could be hidden at night. The glow from the lights of a city can be seen over the tops of mountains and even from space. We can be that light in the darkness. We are called to be the light of the world and we do it by living our life in a way that glorifies God and causes others to see the light in our life and give glory to God.

Final Thought: If we are the Light (being) then we will let it shine for the world to see (doing). But remember we first have to be, before we can do. To let our light shine doesn’t mean that we call attention to our deeds and ourselves but we do things for the purpose of drawing attention to God and making God known.