CHRISTIANS ARE CALLED to be a light to the world. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:16 (NIV), “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Our words and actions are to shine and point others directly back to God.
As believers, glowing should come naturally, right? But what does it truly take to stand out in a dark world? Here are four essential points I believe the Holy Spirit revealed to me.
First, glowing takes godly boldness. There are a lot of loud people out there, but loud doesn’t equal bold. Think about it: Jesus was bold. He never did anything just to create noise or have an argument. Godly boldness isn’t yelling at people, demanding that they change their ways, and telling them all the sins they’re living in. That kind of behavior won’t change anybody’s mind. It’s not getting on Facebook and anonymously putting your opinion on someone’s controversial post. We’re not winning anybody by doing that. Boldness isn’t always something we say. Actions speak a lot louder than words. Boldness might be walking away from a situation, not arguing even when we’re being baited. Sometimes boldness is simply standing up for Jesus in a world that hates Him. At the end of the day, we should be bold because we want to bring more people to Heaven with us. That’s our only job down here.
Second, we must be loyal to Jesus. Bees serve as a perfect example of loyalty in the animal kingdom. A swarm of bees is incredibly faithful to its queen—if she leaves, the entire swarm stops what it’s doing to follow her. We should ask ourselves: “Am I willing to do whatever it takes to follow Jesus?” Here’s the thing: If we don’t know Him, we can’t be loyal to Him. We need to spend time in the Word, pray, and attend church to grow in our relationship with Him and develop our loyalty. Let’s prioritize these things and surrender our lives to Jesus. If we choose to keep our lives for ourselves, we’ll forfeit what we’re trying to keep (see Luke 17:33). Instead, we must know Jesus and be fiercely loyal to Him. As we surrender to Him, He will show us what it is like to
truly live.
The third thing required for us to glow is outrageous love.
John 13:35 (NLT) says, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” Jesus modeled this for us. Over and over, we see Him connecting with people everyone else avoided. Jesus loved people, even if the Pharisees were appalled at Him for doing so. The world cannot understand His kind of outrageous love because it’s different. It’s not what the world is used to. The next time someone hurts you, choose to love them. That kind of love moves even the hardest hearts.
And lastly, glowing requires walking in the Spirit. We don’t have to do this life alone. We get help to be bold, loyal, and loving because the Holy Spirit lives inside us. Jesus could only be in one place at a time. So after His resurrection, He sent the Holy Spirit to us. That way, He can be with us all the time, everywhere we go. Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit so that we can go into the world and truly shine for the Lord. Isn’t it amazing that the same resurrecting power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us (Rom. 8:11)? On our own, we are nothing special. But once we give our lives to Jesus, we start glowing. And when we continue to seek God and let the Holy Spirit lead us, we will shine more and more brightly.
We can be an unstoppable force for God and bring many lost people into the Kingdom. Let’s carry a godly boldness wherever we go, demonstrate unmatched loyalty, and love outrageously while following the Holy Spirit. We have to walk in His power if we’re going to do what we’re called to in these last days. We are to glow, be the light of the world, and bring many people to Heaven with us.
Angela Duggins
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Angela Duggins
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