"Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
Matthew 5:16
Imagine, it's a cold dark night. Your wet from the incessant snow falling gently all around you. You're tired from tramping through the slush and ice. In the distance you see a light as you move closer to it, you find a house. All you can see from the outside is the welcoming glow of the oil lamps through the frosted windows beckoning you in. Christian, you are the oil lamp inside that house.
But do we realize that the lamp in and of itself has no value or usefulness. It is merely a decorative knick-knack whose sole purpose is to collect dust. Ah, but add oil and a wick and the lamp becomes an instrument of infinite value to a cold, weary stranger, who can now find refuge in the house. And as the light casts its friendly glow, it doesn't bring glory to itself; it shines so that the house might be recognized as a place of shelter.
Apart from the Light of the World and the fuel of the Holy Spirit, we are useless brick-a-brack. Jesus said in John 15:5 - "Without Me, you can do nothing." I love what Moses tells Israel in Deuteronomy 7:6-8:
"For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were least of all the peoples; but because the Lord loves you and would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers. . ."
I bring nothing to the table. All I am is an empty vessel, powerless to do anything on my own. But when I am available to the Lord, He fills me with His power and lights the wick. I become both useful and beautiful. But wait, it gets better!
Not only do I myself become a thing of value, bearing both light and warmth, but the light that now emanates from me proves the house to be a suitable shelter, a place of refuge for weary souls. When my light shines before men, it brings glory to my Father in heaven. God doesn't need my help to prove His worth; He doesn't need my light to expose Him for who He is. He Himself dwells in unapproachable light. But the eyes of the wanderer are darkened and they need something or someone to show them the way. I am so glad that the Lord uses weak vessels to prove His glory.
But isn't it funny how prideful we can get? The light is not my own, the power is not my own, the room is not my own. All I have to offer is completely from the Lord. He deserves the glory and the praise.
"We are His workmanship, created for good works in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10
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