Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.
Isaiah 60: 1-3
Christians all over the world are, in some degree, remembering the darkness of Jesus’ crucifixion, and then celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ this week. Some Christians celebrate every week, others make a special time in the Church calendar to remember. Remembering, every day, what He has done for us is even better—a means to brighten the darkness around us.
What has He done? Why did He die? Why the agonizing death of crucifixion and not a sword? Have you taken the Cross for granted? Our Lord Jesus took upon Himself—the perfect Lamb of God—the sins of humanity, and He died in our place on the Cross. Only He, God in the flesh, could pay the debt for our sinfulness. The crucifixion meant every drop of His blood flowed from Him in the agony of the cross, not a quick beheading nor a sword through His heart. Why Him and not someone deserving death for crimes done? It had to be Jesus because He was sinless. We couldn’t even die for our own sins, let alone for the sins of the world. But!
But, He didn’t stay dead, and we celebrate His resurrection with joy, not only on the calendar, but in the hearts of Christ followers every day.
Yes, He told us we were to shine His light in the darkness of our world for Him. Had He not, however, offered up His light and life on our behalf and then and arose from the dead to become the true Light of the world, the words would have been empty.
And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
1 Corinthians 15: 14
Since He has come and become the true Light, we now have the commission and the joy of shining His light into the dark world where we walk. Praise Him! Indeed, He has risen, and He has ascended to the right hand of God, and from the moment of His ascension, He had the authority to send us out with His light into a world in desperate need of Him.
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28: 18-20
Up to this point, God’s mercy and grace came only through the Jewish sacrificial system, but now, NOW, the temple veil has been torn from top to bottom—torn by God’s own hand—and we have access to Him in prayer and service. Now …
Now, until the day he returns, He had extended the means of grace to all peoples of the world.
He will come again to reap the harvest of believers, but there are many men and women, boys and girls around the corner and around the world—many peoples unreached who have not been introduced to God’s wonderful salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to go, tell, urge them to declare to the world that they belong to Him by identifying with Him in their baptism, and disciple them in their Christian growth. These are the way we carry His light into our world, next door or around the world.
He has risen! Let us arise and shine our lights to our loved ones, neighbors and into all the world.
Hold your candle high!
Challenge: What holds you back from sharing the Light of the world with others? Have you trusted His blood and righteousness for your eternal light of life? If not, please contact me and we’ll talk about how you may know you are one of His.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for taking our place at Calvary and conquering eternal death for us when You emerged from the tomb. Help us to shine Your light into every dark corner of the world until you return for Your beloved ones. In Your name, Amen.
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I hope you have found encouragement in these journals on the Light of the world and our part in shining for God’s glory. We will begin other subjects in the weeks ahead. Let me know how the Lord has encouraged you over the past weeks.
June
