Let your light so shine before men
The Bible has many words to describe what a Christian is and what he does, in order to be a blessing to the world. The Christian is God’s love letter to a lost world. 2Cor. 3:2-3 says this, “ You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.” This means that God has written His infinite love in your innermost being, but also written on you where people could see. Therefore, through the Christian, God is proclaiming to the world that He loves the sinners; through you as a Christian, God tells the world that He sent His Son to die for sinners; through you as a believer God tells the world that His sovereign grace is so powerful to change people lives. You are God’s love letter to a lost world.
Ephesians 2:10 says, “…we are His workmanship, created in Christ…” God fashions us, we are His workmanship. Before we knew Christ we were like raw materials because of our sins. But now that we are in Christ, He is fashioning, remaking those materials to be His masterpiece-the Beauty and the Best. We are also told that we are like a clay in the potter’s hands. God is the greatest Artist. No human artist will hide his masterpiece in the cupboard or closet. No potter will hide his most beautiful piece. No author will hide his literary work from the public. No sculptor would keep his work for himself. The artist will display his great achievement; the potter will proudly show his handiwork; the writer will share his thoughts to others; the sculptor wants his work to be seen by the public.
A believer is a work of art. This is where the word ‘poem’ (as mentioned before) originated. We are God’s great literary piece of achievement; it means we are His masterpiece. For what purpose? To be seen, to be a witness to a lost world, so that the lost could see the light of the glory of God through us. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matt.5:16).
A story is told of a sculptor who once fashioned a magnificent lion out of a solid stone. When he was asked how he accomplished such an amazing masterpiece, he replied, “It was easy. All I did was to chip away everything that didn’t look like a lion.”
God continues to chip away everything in our lives that doesn’t look like Christ. Undoubtedly, the discipline of personal devotion-reading His Word and Prayer, the discipline of trials and challenges in life, the discipline of pain and suffering, and the exercise of absolute obedience and service conforms us into the image of our loving Saviour Jesus Christ. Thus, we become a better ambassador for Christ. Remember all by grace and by grace alone, through faith alone.
