Be the Light!

You are the light of the world. 

A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.   

Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, 

but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.  

 In the same way, let your light shine before others, 

so that they may see your good works 

and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.  

Matthew 5: 14-16

Christ stands on a hill by the Sea of Galilee and delivers what we know as the Sermon on the Mount.  He just finished the Beatitudes...a list of blessings for those who choose to follow the Way.  I love the way Jesus taught. He has the perfect blend of encouragement and challenge in his teaching.  Verses 13-16 are sometimes referred to as the Similitudes...and these two compelling comparisons have beautiful literary expression.  We are to be salt and light.  Salt both flavors and preserves.  And light pierces through the darkness.

Have you ever noticed how little light it takes to dispel darkness?  A room can be engulfed in a blanket of black and a spark of light, just a pin point, opens a way through the dark abyss.  We are that light in our world darkened by sin.  We may think our light is insignificantly small.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  Our purpose is to shine our light.  

Someone once asked me about the command to shine your light so others would see your good works.  They thought the verse encouraged self service, or self glorification.  To clarify, we have to remember we are not the source of the light we shine.  All our good works are to point to Christ.  That's why ministry must be more than humanitarian effort.  Help may come from caring gestures, but no light emanates from works that simply serve to help others.  While these efforts are good and kind, unless we shine the light of Christ, people may walk away with all our help and step right back into the darkness of their world.  Feeding the hungry may fill stomachs, but unless we shine the LIGHT into the dismal world of the needy, they will hunger and thirst again.  We may build shelters for the homeless, but unless we shine the LIGHT into their hearts, their habitats remain cold and dark.   

Let your light shine...

the light inside you is the living Christ.

Shine the light of his grace-filled gospel 

and truly lead others out of their darkness. 

In this way, you give glory to God. 

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Design Details:  This simple page took minutes to design.  The wreath is printed on clear, matte sticker paper and adhered to the page.  The fun lettering from an alpha stamp lends color while helping to focus on the simply but powerful message of the text.  The passage is highlighted with yellow watercolor paint, and with a simple page like this, the eye is drawn to the message.   

Product Used:

Christmas Joy Printable Bundle

Sunshine Girl Alpha Clear Stamp

Your Heart...and the Door

...The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Love the Lord your God will all your heart and with all

your soul and with all your strength.

These commandments that I give you today are to 

be upon your hearts.

Impress them upon your children. ...

Write them on the doorframes of your houses...

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Doors are significant and symbolize the entrance to a more intimate place.  When you put a welcome sign on your door, you are giving people permission to engage with your family, with your lives.  Jesus referenced himself as the door for his followers, (John 10:7).  Relationship with Christ is invitational and intimate.  He welcomes those who believe into the inner places of his person that we may abide there with him.  

It is not surprising then that we have a foreshadowing of Jesus as the door.  God commanded the Israelites, his people of the Old Testament, to write the commands he gave them upon their hearts and upon the doorposts....the area surrounding the door...the entryway.  To enter into relationship with God in the OT, faith was tied to keeping the law, God's commandments.  Perhaps that's why symbolically, the commandments were to be written near the entry point to their personal spaces.  It was a tangible reminder that to be in close relationship to God, there were to obey God's commands out of love and devotion to him. 

God always wants more than outward appearances of our devotion to him.  So His commands were to also be written on their hearts, loved, treasured, remembered.  

For believers today, our relationship to the Father comes by way of the Son, the Door for his sheep.  We know that we are free from the Law...not that we don't obey God and all his precepts, but our obedience is not what establishes relationship.  Our relationship comes through our believe and faith in Christ.  We will obey because we love him and want to please him.  But our obedience is not enough to gain access into the inner parts of the Kingdom.  Praise God, Jesus opens the way for us!

I love the symbolism of this particular door image to illustrate this passage.  Because everything in the OT is a foreshadowing of the New, what could be more appropriate for the door Christ represents than a red door?  Our entrance to an abiding relationship with our Savior comes through his shed blood, and through that gift we are given everlasting life...thus the evergreen wreath.  May we still tie his word, his truth to our hearts!

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Design Details:  I used the new Christmas Joy Printable for this page printing the door on clear sticker paper and adhering to the page.  I sponged more color to get the yellow glow of light and some Distress Inks for the antiquing looks.  I used a script stencil for the smudge "commandments." 

Christmas Joy Printable

5-pages including 4 sheets of colored images

scripture prompts

interactive devotional

and JPEG/PNG digital images to create you own custom printed images