Be the City

 

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.” (Matthew 5:14)

I’ve read and heard this verse most of my life. My public high school English teacher quoted it often to her students. She was not shy or ashamed to share the Truth in school.

This verse says we are the light of the world. Do we have anything innate in our being that makes us like a light? This is a metaphorical statement, of course. Let’s ask ourselves that metaphorical question again. Do we have anything within our DNA that makes us shine brighter than anyone else? No. Nothing by which God put in us makes us light—makes us good. 

We are by nature sinful. We are covered by the stains of our sins. People who believe in Jesus as their Savior from their sins no longer bear the stains of those sins. Each confessed sin is wiped away from us and we don’t carry the burden of the guilt. When we believe in Jesus and confess and repent of our sins, Jesus washes the sin stain from our names. His Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us. 

The One who is Light—Jesus—casts His light upon and within us. We, of our own being, are not good, sinless, and light-filled. We are covered—darkened—by the sin into which Satan tricked us. But Jesus, when we believe in Him and He washes us with His sacrificial blood and love, makes us bearers of His Light. We become the light on the hill. 

This light within us cannot be put out. It cannot be denied. As we stand in the darkness of a sinful world, the light of Jesus put within us shines forth. Jesus is eternal and His light, too, is eternal. It will never depart or fade away. 

Jesus has called us to be His city on the hill. To shine bright in the darkness around us so that other people will see the Light (Jesus), be drawn to Him and His love, be saved, and praise Him.

This should make us pause and think. Are we shining the light of Jesus intentionally so others will see Him and come to Him? Are we staying in a daily, moment-by-moment relationship with Jesus so that the light He put within us does not become dim? Are we part of a church of faith who intentionally shines God’s light and calls people to come know Jesus?

Maybe you don’t know Jesus as your Savior. Now is your time to decide. Are you tired of the burden of your sins and the darkness in which you live? Seek the Light, see the Light, and come to the Light—Jesus—for forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life with Him.

Jesus calls each of us to Him, some to be saved and some to draw closer to Him. Draw closer and shine His light brightly so other people will be drawn to Him. In what place do you find yourself sitting now—on a hill or in the crevasses of darkness? You can choose who you follow.

Nations Will Know

When we become Christians by profession of faith and cleansing from sin, God calls us His own and makes us sacred for Him and His purposes. The Israelites experienced this same calling to be sacred/holy for and by God. God chose the people of Israel to be His people. He led them through a desert after rescuing them from slavery in Egypt. God prepared a place for them the people had never known. He was their Savior and Provider.

The Israelites did not quite understand and within a few years, the land of Israel split in two. Israel, the northern tribes, led by abominable kings and a queen, fell away from God and His purposes. The southern kingdom of Judah, in which Jerusalem lay and contained His temple, grew stubborn and rebellious later than the northern kingdom. They like all people sinned against God by being stubborn and insubordinate towards God and His laws, ordinances, and statues.

Each of these 12 tribes God called His own and made them sacred because of His choosing and calling. He set them up as the nation of God, a theocracy, to shine His light to the surrounding nations. The surrounding nations saw or heard about the Israelites’ God as they journeyed 40 years to the Promised Land. They knew of God’s power, might, provision, love, and salvation.

When the Judahites became impudent and stubborn (3:7), God sent His servant, a man called by Him to prophesy, to tell the people of Judah of His judgment against them because of their rebelliousness. Ezekiel first enacted God’s judgment then proclaimed it. He dared not proclaim it because God said the blood of the people, if he did not warn them, would be upon Ezekiel’s hands.

With 5:7-9, & 15, God through Ezekiel proclaimed,

Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Because you have more turmoil than the nations which surround you and have not walked in My statutes, nor observed My ordinances, nor observed the ordinances of the nations which surround you,’ therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold I, even I, and against you, and I will execute judgments among you in the sight of nations. And because of all your abominations, I will do among you what I have not done, and the like of which I will never do again.’

‘So, it will be a reproach, a reviling, a warning and an object of horror to the nations who surround you when I execute judgments against you in anger, wrath, and raging rebukes.’ I, the LORD, have spoken. [NASB]

The sacredness of the Israelites did not exempt them from God’s punishment, His judgment. Rather, as the loving Father, His love for the Israelites required Him to punish them to bring them back to Him. God sent them to be a light proclaiming Him as the One and Only God. Instead, the Judahites followed the gods of other nations. The people who were to shine a light for Yahweh, of whom the surrounding nations knew about, instead shone a light on their disobedience and rebellion.

Because of God’s love for the Judahites, He rebuked and punished them. When you near the end of Ezekiel, God proclaimed He would bring a remnant of the original Judahites back to the land He promised to them. They would still be His people called by Him to be a beacon. The people of Israel would either be a beacon for God’s love by their obedience or through their disobedience and God’s faithfulness to them carried out through judgment.

Each of us who are Christians have this same responsibility. We can be the sacred light of God to the people who surround us with our acts, words, and thoughts of love toward God and other people. We can live our lives obeying God or we can do what we want and be disobedient. This freewill is one of God’s gifts to humans. If, however, we choose in our freewill to walk away from God, He will chastise or rebuke us so we turn around and return to Him. Either way, God’s glory shines because of His love for us-a love so great He would discipline us. Just as the prodigal’s return brings great joy and the father’s love shines from his eyes on his son or daughter who returned, so the Father’s love and joy shine and He receives glory and praise when His child returns to Him after walking away.

I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the peoples, and I will sing praises to You among the nations. For Your lovingkindness is great above the heavens, and your truth reaches to the skies. Be exalted, oh God, above the heavens, and Your glory above all the earth. (Psalm 108:3-4 [NASB])

Lord, help me be obedient to You and Your will each day. Lead me back to Your presence and forgive me when I turn away from You. Let Your name be praised and glorified in all I do and all You do to and through me. For You are glorious, oh Lord. Amen.