Let Your Light Shineনমুনা

Shining Our Light = Sharing His Light

Among all other religions, Christianity shines like a bright light. Let’s discuss why.

This is one of the things that makes Christianity stand out from all other religions. Almost every religious ideology involves a deity to be worshipped. But that godhead is rarely described in detail. Yet why should it be, if the role of humans is simply to submit, honor, and worship? A slave has no business knowing his master personally. But here is where the story of the gospel is completely different. It is one about a God who has created you not just to obey and serve Him but to have an intimate, personal relationship with Him.

The most well-known Bible verse in the world tells us that “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). It stresses that the whole point of the Father sending Jesus and Him dying for us was to provide us with eternal life. So how do we define this eternal life? It cannot only be about eternal existence since the Bible clearly teaches that every human being will exist forever somewhere, regardless of whether they believe in Christ or not.

The true definition of eternal life is given to us by Jesus Himself as He prays His very last prayer for His disciples before being crucified the next day:

"Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." — John 17:3

Eternal life is not just an eternity in heaven. Eternal life is to know God, starting here and now! Jesus did not sacrifice His life just to give you a ticket to glory when you die.

He did it so that you could know God personally and walk in a daily, beautiful, unbroken personal relationship with your Father. He did it to restore the intimacy that was broken through the fall of man.

Now that we know why Christianity stands out, let’s discuss the character of God!

Intimacy always requires security, stability, and trust. This is exactly why God is so concerned that you know that you know that you know: He is light. Only light. Nothing but light. If there is darkness in your life, God is not its author. He doesn’t use darkness to punish you or to teach you anything since darkness is the opposite of His nature and He will not deny Himself by using it as a tool.

How is light used in other religions?

New Age and Eastern religions have tried to hijack the word light and often use terms such as enlightenment or enlightened. That doesn’t really make sense at all for one simple reason: light always brings clarity. Light makes us see things we couldn’t see before. When the light is turned on, we see clearly. Yet these religions that use “light” high and low are among the vaguest in the world, all based on feelings, emotions, experiences, and energies, with no clear vision or image of God at all. How contradictory to speak so much about light and still have no clarity.

Yet our God is the true light—a light that reveals and enables us to see and know His nature, His goodness and love, and allows us the knowledge and assurance we need to trust Him, surrender to Him completely, and live our lives for His glory:

"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord." — Ephesians 5:8–10

What is our first step to shining our light?

Your first step of the journey to “live as children of light” is just that: trust in Him. He is worthy to be trusted. For He is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.