Being Light
“For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light.
Live as children of light…”
Ephesians 5:8
On October 19, 1914, the First Battle of Ypres began in Flanders three months into World War I. Novelist H.G. Wells touted it to be the “war to end all wars.”[1]
As we know, living in hindsight, World War I did not bring lasting peace but ushered in a new era. Technological advancements brought about modern warfare so that injury and death could be inflicted in large numbers to both combatants and civilians across a larger geographical area. It also overturned ruling dynasties in Europe, as well as Russia and the Ottoman Empire, changing maps forever and bringing the United States for the first time onto the global stage as a world power.
However, there is one additional result of World War I that should be of even greater significance to Christians. The war also ushered in a growing secularism in the lands where early Christianity took root and flourished for almost two millennia. Most Europeans were struck by the cognitive dissonance that these were Christian nations slaughtering one another in the name of God. The contradiction between Jesus’ instructions to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44) and the violence and killing of fellow Christians could no longer be overlooked or ignored as in earlier generations.
A week does not go by that someone calls or stops to talk with me about how bad they think things are going in our country and our world. Usually, I listen patiently to these frustrations or fears with an empathetic ear. Sometimes, I point out that, last time I checked, God still remains sovereign over this world. Other times, I remind them that even in Jesus’ time, the Romans ran a reign of terror throughout their empire.
What is interesting is that Jesus didn’t take on these brutes head-to-head but called upon His followers to be light in the darkness of their time. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world … let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14, 16)
I believe that we are still called to be light. Darkness has never overcome the light (John 1:5). It is time Christians focus on putting on Christ (Romans 13:14) and be the light by loving those whose beliefs or behavior with whom we dislike or disagree. I wonder what our country — our world — would be like if Christians lived the light of Christ in their lives each day, loving and serving God and their neighbor.
How might you live the light of Christ today?
