Shining or Stumbling?

Have you ever had a complete stranger recognize you as a Christian? That happened to me this week, and as much as it encouraged me to be recognizable as a follower of Christ, it also challenged me.

My first instinct was to analyze: what had I been wearing, how had I interacted with the people around me—what was it that made me “look” like a Christian?

But I think there’s something more recognizable than just outward appearance and behavior (although those are important, too.) The primary thing that sets us apart from the world is the very thing from which Christlike appearance and actions flow: the light of Christ. 1 John 1:5-7 puts it this way:

“This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

Walking in the light of Christ results in cleansing and separation from sin. As we walk in the light, we will not get sucked down into the darkness of sin that defines the world. Instead, we will radiate the very righteousness of God, as we yield to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to respond to life and people the way God wants us to.

This of course will affect our outwardly visible lives: what we wear, how we behave, how we choose to use our time, the way we interact with those around us—the list could go on and on. But light, especially in the midst of darkness, radiates light.

As you and I walk in the light of Christ, we will in turn reflect that light to the world around us, not just by outward demonstrations of holiness, but by the fact that those outward things stem from a heart close to Christ.

Consider Proverbs 4:18-19. After a description of “evil men” and a warning not to go in their ways, we are given this contrast:

“But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.”

You and I are given the chance to shine out God’s light in our daily lives, and to invite those in darkness to enjoy the light of Christ for themselves. But walking in the light is a choice, and all too often we choose to stumble in the darkness, instead of yielding to the Holy Spirit.

Jesus compared His followers (us) to salt, saying,

“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” (Matthew 5:13)

When those stumbling through the darkness see us stumbling right along with them, what is there to recommend Christ? You and I have a grave responsibility to bear the light to those in the darkness.

So, dear Reader: today, are you shining or stumbling?

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)