(Audio)
You are the light of the world.
A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.
Light does not exist for the sake of itself. Light exists to shine in order to illuminate something. Our light is not meant to be self-promotion or glorification, but rather so that our heavenly Father might be glorified. But we do rightfully worry about shining for selfish reasons. We are tempted to cover ourselves with a bushel basket to avoid the risk of pride. There is an apparent tension between letting our light shine and the humility to which we are called
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you (see Mathew 6:3-4).
We can infer that letting our light shine does not mean blowing a trumpet before us as we do good works. But neither are we supposed to cover our works with a bushel basket. If anything, the call seems to be to let ourselves be so transparent to the light that we ourselves are as hidden as possible while the heavenly Father is revealed.
Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your heavenly Father.
Elijah was able to let the Father's light shine through him to the widow at Zarephath. No good deeds of his own could have fed her and her son so well for so long in a time of famine. He himself could do nothing about the jar of flour and the jug of oil. Had he less faith he might have tried to cover himself with a bushel basket rather than letting the LORD act through him. A misdirected humility might have obscured the work the LORD wanted to do. The temptation to fear that the LORD would not act could have kept the light he was meant to reveal hidden. Interestingly, his fidelity let the light of the LORD shine not only through him but also through the charity of the widow.
When we don't let our left hand know what our right hand is doing we train ourselves to rely on the LORD as the source of our light. When we use our hands for his works we let his light shine without concealing it. We need to do this, for we are meant to be salt of the earth. It is through Christians that the world retains the savor of meaning and truth. It is through our salt that goodness in the world is preserved from corruption that otherwise inevitably consumes it.
It may seem at times like the heavens are shut and that no rain is coming. We ourselves may be terribly thirsty. God wants to use us, like he used Elijah, to show the world where true food and true drink can be found. He wants to use us to keep such goods as are to be found in this world not only edible but delicious. He calls us to shine, not for ourselves, but for his glory, which is, after all, the glory of man fully alive.
O LORD, let the light of your countenance shine upon us!
You put gladness into my heart,
more than when grain and wine abound.
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