Be the light..

Kari Jobe, a Christian singer and songwriter has a song called, "We Are," that contains the following lyrics:

Every secret, every shame
Every fear, every pain
Live inside the dark
But that's not who we are
We are children of the day

So wake up sleeper, lift your head
We were meant for more than this
Fight the shadows conquer death
Make the most of the time we have left

We are the light of the world
We are the city on a hill
We are the light of the world
We gotta, we gotta, we gotta let the light shine....

 

Now when I hear this song on the radio, the lyrics will hold more meaning to me.  Here's why....

 

For the past few weeks at church, the pastor has been doing a series on, "When Faith & Work Intersect."  This past weekend's message really stood out to me and so I wanted to share a part of it with you in hopes that it motivates and encourages you as it did me.

 

By being a believer in Jesus Christ, I'm called in my every day walk to "be the light."  What does it mean to be the light?  It means to act in a way where others will question my actions and thus be drawn to learn about my relationship with the Lord. 

 

I think in today's world it's easy to just go through the day to day motions, be a good person, go to church on the weekends and say I'm a Christian.  That though, is not enough.  It's not enough to just be a good person.  God calls me to be the light. 

 

In Matthew 5:18, the Bible says, "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." (New American Standard Bible)

 

When I think about where I spend the majority of my day, of course, work comes to mind.  Therefore,  my light needs to shine its brightest in that environment.  So what does it look like to be the light at work? 

 

Here a just a few ways I've come up with to be the light....

-have a positive attitude (even if I get frustrated with a task, I will remind myself that the work I do is for the Lord, not for man)

-make an extra effort to help others when I am able to do so (it can be simple things such as: taking the mail to the mailbox, cleaning up the kitchen, restocking the paper in the copier)

-thank those who help me throughout the day (whether it's a verbal thank you, an email or a note, just to let that person know I appreciate his/her help)

-not engage in gossip (this occurs in every office environment I've ever been in and it's so easy to just join in on the conversation, but I want to be more conscious of my words)

 

My goal this week is to start to use work as a sense of praise and worship to the Lord.  I'll leave you with one more encouraging verse, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving."  ~Colossians 3:23-24

 

Now go shine your light!