Light out of Darkness

You're probably familiar with Jesus's statement, "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matt 5:16). Pretty good stuff. But ... did you ever stop to think about it? I mean, why will they glory the Father if I do good works? Ah! Context! Context can answer this question.

¹¹ "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. ¹³ "You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. ¹⁴ "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven (Matt 5:11-16).

Notice the context. Jesus isn't changing subjects when He switches from "Blessed are you when others revile you" and "You are the salt of the earth." He's on the same point here. You see, when you suffer, when you are reviled, when people utter all kinds of evil against you (falsely -- that's kind of important), that's your time to shine. That's your time to spice things up. Doing good when things are easy is like hiding a light under a basket. Turning on a light in a sunlit room is likely going to have little effect. No one will notice. But when things are going wrong and you are doing good, that's when it becomes glaringly visible.

I had the opportunity some time ago to observe a woman, a sister in Christ, who was in a bad marriage. The guy was just not a nice guy. Oh, not horrible or anything, but he just wasn't very nice. The strange thing was you'd never know it to observe this woman. It wasn't that she endured it bravely. It was as if she believed hers was a good marriage. Of course, some might argue that's delusional, but consider this. If it is true that God works all things for good to those who love Him, then it would be good by that measure, wouldn't it? If we are told to "count it all joy" when we encounter trials because that is working for our best, then it would be good by that measure, wouldn't it? And if you believed that God was Sovereign, that He worked all things after the counsel of His will, then it would have to be good by that measure, wouldn't it? No, if all this is true, then it wasn't she that was delusional; it would be the rest who didn't get it. So she didn't simply endure it; she embraced it. She was joyful, a smiling face all the time. She never complained, never even winced. She didn't "bear up" or seem to tolerate her place, but thanked God for it. She actually seemed to "count it all joy."

I have to tell you, when I saw that it was easy to see what Jesus was talking about. Doing good in good times is okay, even recommended. But rejoicing in tough times? That was a beacon of light, a ray of sunshine in a dark world. That was the kind of thing that would provide salt in a bland world, that would make people take notice, that would point to the only possible answer -- God.

Doing good is ... good. Doing good in hard times is hard, but that is the best place for us to display the glory of God, to reflect the character of Christ, to make people ask, "What has she got that I don't ... and how do I get it?" It's light in darkness. In fact, it's our calling. When you go through tough times, remember that.