What It Means to Let Our Lights Shine: Three Lessons From Matthew 5:16

Imagine a world of pitch-black darkness. 

Not the dim gray of twilight, but the inky sort of blackness that your eyes are powerless to adjust to—the kind that prevents you from seeing your own hand in front of your face. 

Sit in that world for just a moment. 

And now, imagine a light. 

Light that cannot be hidden 

There are few images in this world quite as universally striking as light cutting through darkness. No matter how heavy the darkness, no matter how oppressive and smothering it might feel, all it takes is the tiniest light source to begin pushing it back.  

And God wants you to be one of the lights that push it back. 

That’s what Jesus Christ told His disciples early in His Sermon on the Mount: 

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). 

Cities on hills. Lights on lampstands.  

Let’s look at three lessons we can learn from Christ’s instruction to “let your light so shine.”

1. Letting our light shine is unavoidable 

Committing to follow Jesus Christ means striving to live a life that stands in stark contrast to this world’s dominant cultures and values. 

When we make the conscious decision to turn the other cheek in social confrontations (verse 39), to love and pray for those who wish us harm (verse 44) and to consistently “live by . . . every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4), we are going to live lives that are unmistakably different.  

Just by virtue of abstaining from the things God calls evil, we will make enemies of people who hate the light.  We will be lights in the darkness. 

Shining is a natural consequence of Christianity, just as light is a natural consequence of striking a match. If we love God with all our heart, soul and mind (Matthew 22:37), our light must shine. 

Jesus told the crowds that came to hear Him, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12). 

In fact, Jesus highlighted the absurdity of trying to hide that light. A Christian scrambling to not be noticed by the world is as ridiculous as lighting an oil lamp and sticking it under a basket. The sole purpose of a lamp is to cast light. No one would waste oil by burning it in a lamp no one could see. 

Likewise, we shouldn’t waste our Christianity by trying to blend in with the darkness. 

2. Letting our light shine is polarizing 

Light illuminates. 

Not everybody likes that. 

More to the point, some people hate that. 

“For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (John 3:20-21). 

Light makes things visible. In this spiritual metaphor, light exposes things as good or evil. Right or wrong.  

So when we adopt God’s moral code—when we mold our lives around it and let it govern the things we choose to do and refuse to do—there will always be those who take personal offense.

Even if we aren’t confronting others about the way they live their lives, there are those who cannot stand knowing that someone might be judging their decisions. 

In response, “they are surprised that you do not join them in the same excess of wild living, and so they speak evil of you” (1 Peter 4:4, Modern English Version). Just by virtue of abstaining from the things God calls evil, we will make enemies of people who hate the light—who cringe at the idea of a higher authority telling them what right and wrong look like. 

On the other hand, there will also be those who appreciate the light—who appreciate seeing clearly and not stumbling through the darkness. There will be those who appreciate the impact that God’s Word has on the way we live our lives. 

Even though we’ll often appear strange, different and even a little perplexing, some people will recognize that the light we carry changes the way we live in a positive way—and they’ll want to be around it. 

God may even begin working in their lives through that light, opening their eyes to His truth. 

3. Letting our light shine is not about us 

But whether those around us embrace the light or try to stamp it out, the light is important either way. 

Because, ultimately, the light isn’t about us. 

And because, ultimately, it isn’t even our light. 

The light is something God gives us. Whatever spiritual light might emanate from us—that light comes from Jesus Christ, the light of the world. We shine when we follow in His footsteps, obey His ways, emulate His life. 

Whatever spiritual light might emanate from us—that light comes from Jesus Christ, the light of the world. We shine when we follow in His footsteps, obey His ways, emulate His life.  Of course, when Jesus walked the earth, He carefully followed the direction and will of the Father in everything He said and did (John 5:19). (To learn more about building your life around Christ’s example, read “Walk as He Walked.”)

The real purpose of a light isn’t to be seen, but to help others see. And the real purpose of our light shining before men is so “they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).  

Will they see your good works? Will they see your kindness and your dependability? Will they see your unwavering dedication to godly principles and morals? Your self-sacrifice? Your commitment to doing good to others? Your patience when annoyed? Your gentleness with all people? Your courage to be different when those around you are doing wrong? 

Yes—as surely as they’d see a city on a hill or a light on a lampstand. When you live like Christ, it will cut through the darkness of the world.

But, again, we don’t do it for the purpose of being seen. In the same discourse, Christ warned His disciples, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 6:1, English Standard Version). 

Those who do the right thing so “that they may be praised by others” have already “received their reward” (verse 2, ESV). 

We do it so that others have an easier time seeing God.  

Even when we’re dealing with someone who hates the light. 

The future purpose of letting our light shine

Peter urged Christians to keep their conduct “honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:12). 

Sure, others are going to heap abuse on us. They’re going to call us evil, and they’re going to be angry about the light—not even recognizing it as light. But one day, when the true Light returns to this earth and establishes His Kingdom—when God opens their eyes and they see what they’ve been missing—they’re going to remember where they first saw that glimmer of the true light. 

And when that happens, they’ll be able to glorify our Father in heaven. 

This way of life isn’t always easy—but don’t waste time trying to hide under a basket. 

Let your light shine.

Date Posted: January 8, 2024