“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you." Isaiah 60:1
ARISE. SHINE.
When we become a part of God's kingdom, we now serve as a beacon of His light to testify of His goodness and love to those we encounter. Life becomes less about us and more about glorifying God through everything we do. I remember when I first started my walk with Jesus, I was driving in my car and looked up at the sky to see this beautiful array of sunlight beaming out of the clouds. Right away the word radiant came to mind and I felt in that moment God whisper to me that is how He wants faith to shine out for the world to see. When you look up the definition of radiant it says, "sending out light; shining or glowing brightly". When you accept Jesus into your heart, you begin to glow and shine differently because the source of light and love now lives in you. That light isn't meant to be held in captivity, it's meant to shine out of you and be shared with those around you so that they may be able to partake in the glory of His goodness as well. (Matthew 5:14-16)
When we start living for God that means we are stepping into our new identity and roles. With those new roles, comes new responsibilities. As Christians, we are called to be bold in the way we show the love of God to everyone He places on our path. We no longer live to serve ourselves but to serve the lord through spreading His message. The biggest convictions I felt when I surrendered my life to Jesus was to stand firm in truth, be bold about my faith and to do it all in love. I believe sharing parts of my testimony is a big part of that and it is one of the reasons I started this blog.
I realized quickly why God wants us to be bold in our faith and in the way we love. There's a bigger picture to this world that I didn't see before because I wasn't exposed to it in a positive way, I wasn't told about it ever in depth, and in all honesty, I was good with living life by my own rules. Before my relationship with God, my life was confined to what was tangible of this world and things I could physically see. My eyes were spiritually blind to recognizing Jesus as lord and because of that, my scope of vision in life was limited. I've come to know and experience that accepting Jesus as my lord and savior was the key that gave me access to a world where I got full-sighted vision. My eyes became opened to fully understand the knowledge that my true purpose, identity, guidance, freedom and fulfillment comes from Him. I may not be able to physically see God or where He is taking me, but through my faith and having spiritually opened eyes, I know He's always taking me to greater places and new heights.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6 Jesus is what I was searching for my whole life without even realizing it. Think about the sun for a second. It has the capacity and power to radiate light and energy to all of Earth to help sustain life. I've come to know and experience the same way the sun is the light source to keep us physically alive, Jesus is the light source that keeps me spiritually alive. We need Jesus like the Earth needs the sun. It's how God created it to be. The light and love of God has the capacity and power to turn any heart no matter how broken or messy into a new and restored one. Life truly began at the moment I let Jesus in and has been sustained through a relationship with Him. The beginning of my life changing experience with Jesus all started with a good friend that was bold in sharing her faith and who invited me to church with her one day. One thing that stood out to me was she wasn't overly assertive about it. She simply showed me Jesus through the way she carried herself and in the way she genuinely loved others. Her gentle but bold spirit has been an inspiration for me to be that way for other people ever since.
The only way to be touched by light is to be exposed to it. Hiding your light will only keep others from feeling its warmth and from seeing it. That is why God says in His word, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house." (Matthew 5:14-16) If we want our faith to shine in our life, it starts with how well we are loving the people around us. How well we show God's love to others is contingent on how intentional we are in our walk with Jesus and how we are stewarding the gifts/opportunities God gives us.
Christianity goes far beyond labeling yourself as a Christian and going about life doing things your own way. It's not about claiming to be a Christian because your parents said you have to be or because you think it's socially acceptable. It's about the intentional act of personally seeking a relationship with Jesus in order to be transformed through His grace, mercy, and love. You have to be willing to open your heart to receive everything Jesus has to offer in order to experience the power of the resurrection and to be the light He is calling you to be.
Are we seeking His light to be a reflection of it to those we are surrounded by? Are we aiming to be good representations of who God is? God says in His word, that people will know that we are His by the way we love. (John 13:35) We love because He first loved us, and God asks that we let that speak loud in our lives. (1John 4:19) That is the call on the lives of Christians. May we be followers that allow our lives to be a trademark of God's love wherever we go and seeks to live in
Radiant Faith.
-Bri