Let Us Shine
Dr. John K. Mathew
The Romans had a practice of lighting up their tombs.
In several instances, gigantic candles or lamps were constructed with a fuel reserve that would last for centuries.It is recorded that fifteen hundred years after the death of Tullia, Cicero's daughter, her tomb was opened and a tiny lamp was found still burning.
One of the provisions of the will of Caruso,the great tenor,was that a huge candle should be constructed that would burn night and day for a hundred and fifty years.
In the 17th century, under the reign of Louis XIV, tallow candles fashioned from rendered beef or mutton fat were placed in iron framed glass boxes and strung above the streets of Paris.
By 1890, more than 175,000 electric lights had been installed in the US.There are now somewhere around 26 million, which collectively cost American tax payers about 6 billion in annual energy cost.
The idea at its inception was that street lighting would help officials of the state more effectively survey and control city streets after dark.
Its all good to repel darkness in the physical realm, but how about the darkness that permeates our hearts? The world in which we live is deep into spiritual darkness.The only solution to this problem is Jesus Christ.
John's Gospel features teachings of Jesus during the festival of booths. During this festival, four very large menorahs were set up in the court of women in the temple to provide light for dancing throughout the night. In the same location Jesus says, "I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. WHOEVER FOLLOWS ME WILL NEVER WALK IN DARKNESS, BUT WILL HAVE THE LIGHT OF LIFE" (8 :12).
In his epistle John writes again that, 'God is light and in Him, there is no darkness at all' (1 John 1:5). Apostle Paul suggests that, the church is the light of the world. It reads, "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. For the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth." (Eph. 5:8,9).
Light is the natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible. It is the responsibility of the church of Jesus Christ to act as an agent of transformation by pointing Jesus, the light of the world to this dark world. I remember reading of an Australian Bush preacher who went to a little church in the sparsely settled rural districts to preach. It was dusk when he arrived and the place was without light; he wondered what to do about it. Immediately he saw twinkling lights moving through the bush. This was his congregation arriving. Each person carried a hurricane lamp, and as they came in they placed their lamps upon a shelf around the chapel wall. Soon, the whole place was flooded with light. Each had contributed light that had dispelled the darkness. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, 'YE ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD".
The light is not to put under a bowl or bed! It must shine!!