Let Your Light Shine...

“One of the recent conversations I had with God was about exposure and now, when I think of the word, I think about being the light of the world. God made us to be the light of the world and light, to be effective, has to shine; has to be exposed. Sometimes, we think we only need to be exposed during the good times but vulnerability requires being exposed in good and bad times and if you’re like me, that can be a tough pill to swallow and one thing I’ve realized about God is that He’s eager for the permission you give Him because He uses it to uplift you. He uses it to bring you out of hiding and into the light where He wants you to shine and be exposed for all the world to see and if that scares you, it scares me too but…”

― Excerpt from my journal entry: 26/04/2024

Now that I look at what I wrote and when I did, I see that there was a lot that I needed to learn from that day. There’s a lot I still am learning and from more and more conversations I’ve had with friends recently, I think it’s something a lot of us are learning as well.

When you think, ‘I am the light of the world,’ more times than not, it makes you happy, there’s a smile on your face, and there’s this sense of purpose attached to it but have you really thought about what being light means; the characteristics of light?

• Light is needed for the smooth running of everyday activities. Without light, we’ll all be in our houses day and night, no communication with the outside world, and there’ll be no businesses, just sit for a moment and imagine a world where there is no light, it feels suffocating.

• Light gives warmth to all who are in proximity of it. Let’s take the sun as an example. Without the sun, it’ll be a cold dreary night in the world. No atom of warmth will be felt, we’ll have to wear thick coats or cardigans every second of the day because we won’t be able to survive without it.

• Light is needed for growth. One of the first things we were taught in primary school and even secondary school is that light is needed for photosynthesis in plants. Without the sun, there’ll be no plants and without plants, there’ll be no food for us to eat. For anyone who wants to disagree and say that they will only meat to survive, what do the animals eat? I thought so too.

• Lastly (and definitely not the least because there are many more characteristics of light), light needs to be exposed for it to do all the things that it does. Imagine the sun up there in the sky but a thick black cloud covering it that the light of the sun can’t penetrate it. The sun essentially becomes useless because it’ll be as good as living in darkness.

When Jesus told us that we are the light of the world, He also said a town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. (Matthew 5: 14 -15).

That means as the light of the world, essentially, I’m meant to be placed on my stand so I can give light to everyone in the house. When the Lord was teaching me this lesson, it was a hard pill to swallow. It is still a hard pill to swallow. It’s not that I don’t want to be the light of the world, I want to, but I also want to hide in my little corner and I don’t want anyone to see me. Unfortunately, the two cannot coexist. I cannot expect (or want) to be the light of the world and still hide in my corner because I become like the sun that is covered by that thick cloud. I become useless.

And being exposed, being seen for who you truly are can be daunting to hear but in my life, I’ve seen that I gravitate more to people who are authentically themselves, people who embrace who they are in every situation without trying to paint a picture on top of the truth. And then, if you correlate it with what I said earlier, those who think that people want to see a perfect picture instead of the truth underneath, essentially, their light is useless.

I had to come to terms with that myself and maybe you need to as well. Sometimes, the light that is needed in a situation doesn’t have to be the brightest. Imagine coming out of your dark room and going outside where the sun is shining very brightly, you squint because that’s not something you’re used to but after about a minute or so, you get used to it.

It’s sort of the same in our everyday lives. Sometimes, we might be down and our light might not be as bright as that perfect picture you want to paint over your currently dimmed light but it’s true and when the light is true, it is authentic, it lasts longer. How long will you paint a picture over the light… is it till the battery dies? And what next, you go to paint another one. How stressful is that?

Being the light of the world is not about you as Jesus continues in vs. 16 where He says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

He tells us here that the light you’re shining unto others is supposed to direct them to God and not to self and if you’re doing that in the capacity He has bestowed on you, you are being who God says you are.

There was a time I used to be defensive about a lot of things, the choices I made, the things I said, how I looked and many other things that I can’t even remember right now, but the only reason I was defensive about these things is because I was exposed. It wasn’t secluded to only me but there were a lot of people that could see or were made aware and so, it made me hyper vigilant but what I realized or what God made me see is that there is no need to be defensive because in as much as I would love to isolate myself and leave the decisions I make to be just me, myself and I, I would essentially become useless.

And these things might not even be the little things, it might also be in the big things like your decision to follow God and live like Jesus would, the people you choose to have deep relations with, the thing God is asking you to do but you’re not doing because you’re afraid to be seen, there are a lot of excuses we could give ourselves to remain in hiding but the more you do that, the less you lead others to God and the more darkness continues to suffocate the world.

As I write this, it is also something I am learning. I’ve known what it means to be in darkness and let me just tell you, it’s not fun, it can be comfortable but eventually, the absence of light becomes suffocating and stifling. There is no freedom and in the end, darkness always leads to death. Take the plants as an example.

Why Jesus tells us to be the light is essentially to drive out the darkness of this world because the more you stay and look at what the world is turning into, it seems like darkness keeps prevailing over the light and the good and why is that? If you truly ask yourself. It’s because the light is hidden and is scared of being out there.

What good are you as the light of the world if you choose to remain invisible?

And this doesn’t always mean, “Oh, I am the light of the world, I need to do big things so millions of people can be impacted.” It could mean that eventually but Jesus said, “…and it gives light to everyone in the house.” You start where you are; where God has placed you. In time, the house becomes bigger and the light affects everyone who is in it but why don’t you start with where God has placed you, why don’t you start with that thing you know He’s calling you to do?

And remember, it is not about you but about the others who will see the light you shine and in turn, give glory to God because if in the end, it doesn’t give glory to Him, your “light” is not shining how it is supposed to and you’re not as effective as God wants you to be.

Much Love,

Uche 🤍

PS: I'm sorry for my inconsistency, and I'll do well to be more intentional from now on. I hope you forgive me :)

Have you ever found yourself hiding from being who God has asked you to be?

• Yes, and sometimes I don't even realize it.
• No, I haven't.