What is the Light We are Called to Shine?

The song “This Little Light of Mine” comes from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:13-16), where Jesus tells us to let our light shine.  But what is the “light” we are called to shine?  Jesus’s answer might surprise you.

Image by Abeer Graphis, provided by Unsplash via Wix.

Children and adults all across the United States sing the song “This Little Light of Mine.”  Although it began as an African American spiritual, it has spread to many non-religious contexts.  It became an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and spread to other protest movements.  It is used in children’s camps and in public schools.

This raises a question.  What is the “light” you are shining when you shine your light?

The inspiration for this song was a passage in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus tells his disciples to “let your light shine before men” (Matt. 5:16, traditional wording).

In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12).  But in Matthew, Jesus says, “ Let your light shine” – implying that we carry a light within us that we must choose to shine forth to others.

What is the nature of the light we shine?

If each of us has a light that we can choose to shine, what is the nature of that light?

• Is it like the light of an electric lightbulb that is dark until a power such as the power of Christ surges through it?

• Is it like a torch that burns brightly only when the fire of the Holy Spirit ignites it?

• Is it like the light of the moon — not generated by itself but only reflecting the light of the sun — or the Son — that bounces off of it?

• Is it like when a group of people light one candle and then pass the fire from candle to candle until everyone’s candle is lit?

• Is it like the kindling of a fire, where we burn brightly when the eternal Fire sets us aflame?

• Is it like the colors of a stained-glass window, which do not themselves provide light but serve as a conduit for the light that passes through them?

All of these are interesting analogies we might explore in considering how God works through us.  We can ask ourselves: How do I allow the light of God to shine for others through me?

But in Matthew, Jesus offers a different perspective.

Jesus says that our light is our good works (Matthew 5:13-16)

When we look beyond the phrase the song quotes, we find that Jesus tells us what our light is.  First, he says that people don’t light a lamp and then hide it in a basket, they put the lamp on a lampstand so that it can shine for everyone in the house (Matt. 5:15).  And then he says:

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matt. 5:16, NRSV)

According to Jesus, when your light is shining, what do other people see?  They see your good works.  So in Matthew 5:16, the light that we shine, or don’t shine, is our good works.

This means that if you want to let your light shine, you need to take action.  Letting your light shine doesn’t just mean expressing your real self, it means doing good deeds that help others.

It is fine for this song to be used in non-religious settings, because anyone, even non-believers, can do good deeds.  But Jesus says more than that.

What kinds of good works give glory to God?

Jesus ends his statement with an additional wrinkle.  He tells his followers that when others see our good works, it should lead them to give glory to God.  What kinds of good things can we do that would cause others to give glory to God?

That is where the light of Jesus can play a central role.  If we are walking in the light of Christ, if we are constantly in touch with him and allowing him to guide us, we might be able to see clearly enough to recognize where the greatest needs are and how we can best respond.  And if people know that we are not working on our own but are always seeking to be guided by Jesus, that might lead some people to give glory to God when they receive help through us.

So, joining together Jesus’s words in John and Matthew, we might reach this conclusion: The light we shine is our good works.  And when we welcome the light of Christ in our lives, we may be able to see more clearly so that we are better equipped to let our light shine brightly through good works that are especially effective in meeting the needs around us.

Your good works are part of God’s purpose for you

This illustrates how God has a purpose for us and our good deeds are part of God’s great plan for our lives.

The apostle Paul wrote that we are made to be “conformed to [i.e., shaped to take the form of] the image of [God’s] Son” (Rom. 8:29).  We are meant to look like Jesus.  That is not meant as an abstract, philosophical idea; it is a concrete and practical statement.  We are meant to think as Jesus thinks, care for others as Jesus cares for them, and act as Jesus acts.  That is our calling in response to the free gift of grace that God has given to each of us.

Paul later elaborated on how our good works are a part of God’s purpose for us: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10, ESV).  Long before we were born, God crafted humans and the world we inhabit in such a way that there would be good works for each of us to do as we respond to the call of our Creator.

It is an awesome gift from God, that we have been invited to receive the light of Christ and allow it to enlighten us so that we can let our light shine for others through what we do.

May we shine brightly in all we do!

What good works can you do this week to bring to others the light God is forming in you?

For a deeper dive into Matthew 5:13-16, where Jesus says we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, see my Bible Study for Matthew 5:13-16.