Luke 5 tells of Peter, who would fish at night and not catch anything. Ever wonder why fishermen go out at night, or why the prices of seafood fluctuates on a full moon? The story of Peter in Luke 5 gives us some clues.
The fisherman goes out at night, bringing with him light. He would focus the light in a certain spot and the fish would be attracted to the light. Then, he would throw the net and haul the fish.
We, as Christians are called to be fishers of men. We are called to be lightbearers and reflect the light (which is Christ) and people are drawn to us (we have influence over people).
The question then is this, how should we use our light?
#1 light has to be seen.
The context of the lamp in the time of Jesus is that most houses have one window and in order for people to safely arrive in their place, they leave the light on. No one lights a lamp and keep it hidden. Christ has to be seen in you. Let your life shine a light from the Son.
#2 light is used to guide.
Pilots look for the line of lights to guide the plane into the runway. If the lights are not working, the pilot would not land the plane at night. As Christians, we are to guide the people around us into the direction towards Christ. We are to live as examples as people are looking at us as guides.
#3 light is used to warn.
Think of traffic lights. They signal to people when to stop and when to go. Think of a lighthouse. They warn incoming ships on how near they are to the shore. As Christians, we are to warn people of where they are headed. But as lights, we are not warning them in a noisy manner but rather, speaking the truth in love, or shining our light naturally.
How do we hide our light? We are not effective when we are quiet when we are supposed to speak up. We are not useful when we go along with the crowd when we know that it’s wrong. We are not a good light when we allow sin to dim our light or when we ignore the needs of others.
What then shall we do?
Use your influence over the people around you to bring people to Christ. Use your resources (time, money, facebook or social media, skills, talents) to reflect the Light. Live your life as a guide and an example for others.
So…turn up the light!
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