Sunday: Let Your Light Shine, Y’all

I’ve been going to church for most of my life and so, I’ve read the Gospels countless times.  But sometimes, I find that my recollection of what Jesus did or said doesn’t match up with what Jesus actually did or said.

Take Matthew 5:14-16 for example.  My quick, cliff’s notes recollection of it goes, “You are salt and light. You’re supposed to shine. So, go already and evangelize!”  But when I actually take the time to read what Jesus said, I’m surprised by the first 3 words of the passage.  “You”.  “Are”.  “The”.

“You”.  When Jesus says the word “you”, He’s actually saying “y’all”.  He’s not talking to a singular “you”, but to multiple “you”s. When I take note of that I see that Jesus isn’t calling me to be the light of the world on my own.  Instead, Jesus is calling all of His disciples together, to be the light of the world.

There is a place for solo evangelistic efforts.  You, singular, will pray that the Lord would give you opportunities to share the Gospel.  You, singular, will invite someone into your life.

But the bulk of the evangelistic process doesn’t have to rest on your shoulders.  We, Jesus’ disciples will join you in praying that your friend would meet Jesus.  We, Jesus’ disciples will reach out and get to know your friend.  We, Jesus’ disciples will include your friend into the life of our church community if they so desire.  And we, Jesus’ disciples will demonstrate and extend Jesus’ Lordship and love to your friend.

“Are”.  Jesus doesn’t say, “You’re supposed to be the light of the world.”  He’s not trying to guilt you into becoming light.  Jesus simply says, “Y’all are the light of the world.”  It’s who we are.

And it’s from that statement of identity that Jesus makes His lone command in the passage (Matthew 5:16).  “Let your light shine before others”.  Jesus is telling us to just allow our light to shine.  And He further underscores that point in the previous verse, Matthew 5:15.  In other words, the only way that y’all wouldn’t shine your light is if you intentionally tried to hide it.

As we carry out our lives together and as we invite not yet Christians to come and witness this life we have with one another, we will automatically shine because that’s the part that Jesus does in us.

“The”.  Jesus doesn’t say, “You are light”.  He says, “You are the light.”  We are indispensable to the world because we are the one and only light of the world.  There is no other light out there.

Do you feel the urgency of our task now?  We are the light of the world.  And Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, no one can come to the Father except through Him.  He is the only one who can meet our greatest needs and He is the only one who is worthy of anybody’s worship.

What does all this mean, practically?  I’ll say two things that are on a church-wide/church structure level.

First, as a church we will commit to backing up our words when we say that LTGs are the life and center of our church.  LTGs are the most tangible way that we express community life.  And since Jesus calls the community of believers to redeem the world, we must give LTGs our primary attention.

What I ask of you is that if you’re not in an LTG right now, I strongly urge you to prayerfully consider joining one.  If you’d like to be in an LTG but for whatever reason cannot join one of the existing ones, talk with me and we can see how we can start a new one.

Second, as a church we’ll commit to making the purpose of the LTGs be about reaching those who don’t yet know Jesus Christ and letting our light shine.  We will invite people who don’t yet follow Jesus to our LTGs and there they will see and participate in the “one another” life with us.

If inviting a not yet Christian to an LTG sounds like an incredible jump for you, think of Porticos as a testing ground.  On the first weekend of every month, we’ll have Porticos, a gathering space where it’s simply about introducing the people in our church community to our not yet Christian friends and vice versa.  There won’t be any Gospel presentations, special music, dramas, or skits.  We’ll just share fun, share conversations, share friends, and merge worlds in our lives that we would otherwise keep separate.

It’s not you on your own.  It’s us, together, the body of Christ.  It’s not what we’re supposed to be.  It’s what we already are because the Lord lives in us.  And we’re not merely a light, but we’re the light of the world.  Let’s together, allow our light to shine before others.