Good day
In the previous message I ended off by mentioning the following:
"Our pastor recently said, "You don't get rid of darkness by exposing it, you get rid of darkness by shining the light" and that statement is so true - we are called to shine the light of God on the inside of us. I believe this dream serves as a wake up/as a warning/as a reminder to us as believers that there's a job to do/a work that must be completed/an assignment that must be carried out and that, if we're not obedient and diligent about the things God has called us to, a time will come when the lights will start to dwindle, and the result of the absence/lack of light ... is darkness"
Something to consider about this discussion is that darkness is eradicated when light enters in. For example, a room can be dark but as soon as the light is switched on, there's no longer any darkness ... darkness is the absence of light, so if we want to see less darkness we need to shine some more light ... and it starts with our conduct/character as disciples of Jesus Christ:
We shine our light when we ...
Choose to love instead of hate (Matthew 5:43-48)
Choose to forgive others just as God has forgiven us (Colossians 3:13, Matthew 6:14-15, Matthew 18:21-35)
Choose to withhold judgement (Matthew 7:1-5)
Choose not to take revenge (Matthew 5:38-42)
Choose to show mercy (Matthew 5:7, Luke 6:36-37)
Choose to seek reconciliation (Matthew 5:21-24)
Choose to honour our parents (Ephesians 6:1-3)
Choose to show humility and remain humble (1 Peter 5:5)
Choose to serve others (Matthew 25:31-46, Matthew 20:24-28)
Choose to yield to the Holy Spirit so that fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control can be produced in our lives (Galatians 5:22-23)
The commandment to love is foundational to all of the above and Jesus makes it clear in the below passage that everyone will know that we are His disciples by our love that's on display (i.e. we shine our light by fulfilling this commandment)
John 13:34-35 (AMP)
I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love and unselfish concern for one another.”
Every time we choose to follow or adhere to God's way of doing things, we shine our light, and if we want to see change in the hearts and minds of others, where they too come to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour and follow God's will for their lives, then we need to be consistent and diligent with these matters. We need to give it attention. It needs to take priority. We must seek to make progress and get better at it. We must encourage others to do the same ... and we must persevere in these things.
With God, these things aren't optional. There's an expectation from our loving Father that we seek to be like Him and carry out His desires during our short stay on the Earth.
There's an expectation my friend, to shine our light
(In the messages to follow we'll take a look at how we can make progress in this area)