Your Light
"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)
The light referred to here comes from the Lord. Just as in the image above with the lit candle... that flame came from another source, another flame or spark created, which then was brought to the candle, touched it, and it began shining.
In this same manner, the light of the Lord came to us, touched us, and we began shining. Allowing that light to shine can carry enormous, eternal impacts to those in the world around us. Today, we'll see some ways our finances are involved.
I first want to lead off with a personal testimony. Many years back, in Minnesota, our entire team at work was being let go with just over a one month notice. Shortly after, several coworkers approached me about how they noticed I was taking things so well and remained happy. That opened the door to share about what God had brought about in our finances, to be debt-free, and in sharing scriptures personally with them - and they seemed to take a stronger perception of things spiritually than from any previous encounters we had together before.
This led to a desire of many employees, including outside our team, to want to learn of what we learned in the debt-free class just a few years earlier. With permission from management, my wife Karen and I taught a debt-free class at our worksite with a filled room of coworkers and spouses. This occurred just before we left Minnesota and came to Colorado with my new employment. Without that light shining and God using the circumstances involved, those families would not have received what they did. This included our I.T. director, who shared with me the next year the huge progress her and her household were making on paying off their debts.
In 1 Peter 2:9 it is written - "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light." We declared the praises of Him to those from my former company, and you likewise can do so to those around you in so many ways. In handling your finances as we have been instructed in His Word, below are some ways your light goes forth:
Through "invisible" ways - in giving your tithes and offerings to the Lord. Your giving sends the light of the gospel to our community (even further through the Broomfield Assembly online broadcasts), to our precious youth touched by the On The Hill ministry, and even to distant places in our country and abroad through the missionaries supported every month. Understand that your giving supports the callings of those serving the Lord... from here to all the way across the world.
Through more visible ways - you may instantly imagine the obvious, giving to others in need, and this is good and proper and brings glory to the Lord, and we should be ready to do so at every opportunity God leads us in. As you know, we cover this topic frequently. But I also want you to consider what can be visible through what you don't do... when you choose to decline going out with coworkers for lunch, and when they ask you why, then stating because you have larger goals you are moving towards of becoming debt-free. The same can be from a neighbor, friend or relative, when they observe you've changed some visible things. This can be an open door for your light to shine.
Or it can be when they observe you are not crushed when a substantial negative financial impact occurs... as was the case in the testimony I shared.
Lastly, recall where your light originated and be encouraged to shine your light, by these words written in Luke 1:78-79:
Because of and though the heart of tender mercy and loving-kindness of our God, a Light from on high will dawn upon us and visit us. To shine upon and give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct and guide our feet in a straight line into the way of peace."
God bless you and may He show Himself greatly to you,
Paul
