Righteous Light

Righteousness shines the brightest when dimming days become the darkest. We are called and compelled as Christians to glow for God during gloomy times. Are you caught up in our culture’s chaos, or do you see a chance to burn brightly for Jesus? Hard times can harden our hearts or humble them, but it is a broken heart that burns the brightest.

Jesus said, “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Light left unattended extinguishes, but light exposed to the air of almighty God’s love illuminates. Difficult days demand dependency on the Lord; so, in fact, your acts of service are fueled by faith. If you panic instead of praying, you will miss out on the opportunities to love others.

“We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing” (2 Thessalonians 1:3).

I often ask, “In my uncertainty, am I more worried about my stuff or the window of opportunity to serve others?” It may mean inviting someone to live in my home for a season, paying three month’s mortgage payments for a friend, volunteering at a local shelter, or increasing my gifts to the church. Righteous light longs to love liberally.

Christ in us invites others to know Him, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). Perhaps you invite some neighbors over for a six-week Bible study on money or marriage, and watch what God does.

“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe” (Philippians 2:14–15).

Prayer: Where can I bring the light of Christ’s love to someone’s dark circumstance?

Related Readings: Job 18:5–6; Isaiah 50:10–11; Luke 11:36; Revelation 21:23

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