shine

Overshadowed

/ EllieJ

Identity is one of the greatest issues in the world today. We all want to be our own person. Find ourselves. Discover who we really are. We want to identify as someone or something and identify with someone or something. We have made it life’s number one goal—right or wrong. And in all of our searching and identifying, we have completely lost our identity.

We know that Satan is incapable of creating anything. All he can do is take the good that God has made and pervert it until it no longer resembles what it was truly meant to be. Our identity is one of these things. If the devil can make us forget (or never even know) who we really are, he’s won.

A long time ago, a young girl made the choice to give up her own personal identity in order to take one on that would have everlasting repercussions.

The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”

Luke 1:36 (NASB)

Most people today would balk at losing their identity. What did Mary do?

And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:38 (NASB)

Mary submitted her own will, her own identity, in order to be overshadowed by the Holy Spirit.

We often wonder why people no longer flock to churches and why religion as a whole is no longer popular in society. Could it be that we’ve lost our true identity? In search of ourselves, we’ve stepped out of the shadow of the Holy Spirit. We have made ourselves more important than our Creator. The world no longer sees Christ, they see us as individuals rather than the body we are called to be.

If we really want to make a difference in the world, we have to set ourselves and our own desires aside. Mary didn’t even hesitate to accept the angel Gabriel’s words. She would have known that, as an unmarried woman, she would be ostracised by her community and even mocked for her supposed infidelity. Standing in the face of great opposition, she still chose to stand in the shadow of the Almighty. Her acquiescence changed the world.

As Christians, our lives are not about our own personal identity. We don’t need to go searching for purpose or acceptance. Our identity is found wholly in Christ. He accepts us. He gives us purpose. It is not up to us to shine our own lights, but rather to be overshadowed by the Holy Spirit so that Jesus can shine.

Read: Deuteronomy 33-34, Luke 1:24-56

Boast

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Boast is a strange word. We don’t use it often and when we do, it can have negative connotations. Pride. Arrogance. Biblically speaking, the root word translated to boast can also be translated to shine.:

SHINE: To emit rays of light; to give light; to beam with steady radiance; to exhibit brightness or splendor.

Now that changes things a little bit, doesn’t it?

This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise man gloat in his wisdom, or the mighty man in his might, or the rich man in his riches. Let them boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who is just and righteous, whose love is unfailing, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken.

Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NLT)

As humans, we cannot truly boast. We cannot truly shine. While we are made in God’s image, we are meant to reflect His glory, His light. We have no light of our own. Anything that we reflect other than God’s glory is a counterfeit.

But God, in His love and kindness has given us the capacity to know Him. And not just know about Him, but to truly know Him.

KNOW: To perceive with certainty; to understand clearly; to have a clear and certain perception of truth, fact, or any thing that actually exists.

God has given us both the capacity and the right to know Him, with clarity and certainty. And He delights in us when we do what He has allowed us to do. God loves it when we get to know Him. He’s not hiding from us. He doesn’t hold back from himself. He gives. Freely. This is what we should boast in—the truth that should radiate from us: that God knows us and that we can know the Creator of the universe, that He doesn’t want us to just know about Him, but that He wants us to know Him intimately and without doubt.

The more time you spend with someone, the more you reflect that person’s attitudes, ideals, and even mannerisms. It’s the same with God. Our time with Him should be so influential that we imitate Him in every way. Like a proud parent when their child mimics their (good) behavior, so God also delights in us when we act like Him.

So go ahead, boast. Shine.

Daily Bible reading: Jeremiah 9-10, 1 Timothy 3

Shine?

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From a young age, Christians are told to let our lights shine. What does that even mean? Do I literally have to have a light? If not, what is my light? How do I let it shine? Does it have a switch? Am I responsible for flipping it? If not, how does this whole light thing work? Letting our lights shine has become a nearly meaningless and clichéd line we use all our lives without really thinking about what it means.

God, through the prophet Isaiah, breaks it down into the simplest terms.

Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be bright as day.

Isaiah 58:10 (NLT)

Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. That’s it? That’s it. Matthew says it in a similar way.

In the same, way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Matthew 5:16 (NLT)

The term good deeds is also translated as light. In both cases, light means things like luminary, bright, clear, morning sun, to shine or make manifest. Everything about these roots indicates a rather public display.

But what about Matthew 6:1 where it tells us not to put our good deeds on public display? Well, it’s all about the heart behind the action. Jesus was talking about the hypocrites who made sure people were watching before they did something. It was all for their own selfish gain so that they themselves would be praised. But God is telling us to do these things when people are watching and when they aren’t. He tells us that our purpose behind our good deeds should be to point people back to Him.

By taking care of the very basic needs of those around us for no other reason but that they need it is allowing our light—Jesus—to shine. When we show others the love and mercy that Christ showed us, the glory is not ours, but God’s alone.

So now that you know how and why to do it, shine!

Daily Bible reading: Isaiah 56-58, 1 Thessalonians 3

 

This little light

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I’ve been talking a lot about work lately. Partly because I’ve been working so much and partly because never before have I taken note of so much opportunity to put the Word into practice.

For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.

Philippians 2:13 (NLT)

By all accounts, the apartment site I’m currently working on should be two months behind. The roof was late and everything else that followed was pushed back—except the move-in dates. While I don’t think that anyone will be moving into their first floor apartment by the end of next week, it’s amazing how much this crew has been able to do given the insane schedule they’ve been kept to. But, with the insanity of the schedule comes short fuses and a lot people working out of order and on top of each other. I shouldn’t really even be on site until just about everyone else is gone, but there I am in my safety shoes and hard hat cleaning in preparation for occupancy on a very active construction site.

And in all of that, I feel as though God has given me a mission. He’s given me a light—His light, Jesus—and the command to let it shine.

…Let your lives shine brightly before them.

Philippians 2:15b (NLT)

On a site full of foul language and bad attitudes, I should be like a beacon of hope and peace. And that’s exactly what I’ve been praying as I sing worship songs and dance to myself like no one is watching (I thought no one was listening until I literally ran into the site supervisor the other day when I thought I was alone in the room).

While it may not be my job to make sure everything gets done properly and on time, I can certainly take it upon myself to change the atmosphere wherever I go.

The atmosphere is changing now
For the Spirit of the Lord is here
The evidence is all around
That the Spirit of the Lord is here

Here as in Heaven, Elevation Worship

Where I go, the Spirit of the Lord goes.

Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

2 Corinthians 3:17 (NKJV)

When I walk onto that site today, I fully expect the atmosphere to change. I’m just a lowly cleaner, but little do they know the power that lives within me. The power to change. The power to heal. The power to set free. The power to move mountains. Even the power to get the building done on time. Wherever we go, God has given us the ability as well as the command to make things change. What can you change with your light today?

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.

Daily Bible reading: Isaiah 34-36, Philippians 2

Shine a light

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Have you ever been camping in a place where there are no lights? Have you been so far away from the city that the lights can no longer be seen on the horizon? On nights when the moon is just a sliver and clouds obstruct the stars, it’s dark. Really dark. Just one flashlight can go a long way on a night light that. One light can prevent an entire group of people from stumbling. With every light that’s added, more people can safely traverse an area.

Now imagine your campground away from the city is the world. Christians are the light. If there are no Christians—those who reflect the light of Christ—people are left to stumble. But the more people there are who reflect Jesus, the brighter the path becomes.

Jesus replied, “There are twelve hours of daylight every day. As long as it is light, people can walk safely. They can see because they have the light of this world. Only at night is there danger of stumbling because there is no light.”

John 11:9-10 (NLT)

Instead of complaining about how dark the world is, why not do something about it? Why not go out there and shine a light for those whom you see stumbling along in the darkness. The more the Church pulls back from the world, not wanting to associate with it, the darker it becomes. The more we get out there into the world, the brighter it will be.

If you’re the one in the dark with a flashlight, you aren’t going to keep it hidden and let your friends trip and fall. Let’s all shine a light and remove the danger of stumbling.

Daily Bible reading: 1 Chronicles 23-25, John 11:1-17

Let it shine

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You’re probably already humming that old tune to This Little Light of Mine, aren’t you? It’s catchy. And it’s full of biblical truth. We are supposed to let our lights shine. And, hopefully, they’re more than little lights. They should be big lights. But Jesus gives us a warning about our light.

Make sure that the light you think you have is not really darkness. If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a flood light is shining on you.

Luke 11:35-36 (NLT)

But how can light be darkness?

Satan was once known as Lucifer, meaning light-bearer. Though the devil is unable to create anything on his own, he tries his hardest to manipulate what God has already created and distort it into something that mimics light. If we are not careful, we may mistake his distortion as the real thing.

God’s light has several characteristics:

  • It brings truth in love. Satan will use truth when it suits him, but it often lacks the love that comes with God’s truth. While truth may hurt, it does not hate.
  • It always reflects His Word. God will never reveal something to an individual that is contradictory to what we already have in His written Word.
  • It will encourage, not discourage. God is in the business of building people up, not tearing them down. While uncomfortable change may be required on our part, the end result is always constructive.

It always comes back to the Word of God. The Bible. It is and should always be our standard and we should always be checking ourselves against it. If we fill ourselves with the light of the Word of God, there will be no room for darkness. We will have true light so we can let it shine.

Daily Bible reading: Ruth 1-4, Luke 11:29-54

People will know

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When I was still a kid in youth group, I had one of those experiences that you see silly skits about, but never expect to see happen in real life.

There were a bunch of us piled into a van on our way to a youth event. We’d stopped off at a gas station to fill up and grab snacks for the evening to come. We’d been laughing and joking around in the convenience store and, when we got to the counter with our purchases, the attendant behind the counter said, “There’s something different about you. What is it?”

We’d all seen this skit before. There’s only ever one answer.

“Uh… Jesus?”

And, in a surreal moment, the guy behind the counter didn’t even scoff at us. He simply stated that he’d tried the church thing and didn’t think it was for him. We proceeded to encourage him to try again. Not all churches are the same and not all Christians are perfect. We thanked him for his time, paid for our goodies and left.

I’ve had similar experiences since, but that one sticks out so much because it may as well have been scripted. But, the gas station employee didn’t have a script behind the counter. He hadn’t seen the cheesy skit we’d all seen a dozen times. He saw something different in us. We weren’t like every other person who walked in and out of the store every day.

I give you a new command: Love each other. You must love each other as I have loved you. All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.

John 13:34-35 (NCV)

Just because there have been moments in my life where people have seen a visible difference in me doesn’t mean that I walk out my faith all the time.

This is the challenge.

It’s not in the moments where we remember that we’re children of God where our love for one another is most noticeable. It’s the in-between moments. Those moments where we react without thinking. Have we renewed our minds to the point where our love shines through in every situation? Or is it time to get back into the Word so that our responses reflect the faith and love we proclaim?

Daily Bible reading: 2 Chronicles 10-12; John 13:18-38