This little light of mine. I’m gonna let it shine! I remember singing those words. It’s a gospel song for children. It was inspired by a saying of Jesus.
Jesus told his disciples that nobody puts a lamp under a bowl or a bed. They put it on a lampstand so that it can give light to everyone in the house.
Jesus was brilliant at using common everyday experiences to reveal and explain spiritual truth. This saying is recorded in several places in the Gospels. He must have used it often.
In Luke’s Gospel, it follows immediately after his parable of the soils. In that parable, Jesus compares God’s word with seed. If seed falls on hard, shallow, or thorny soil, it does not bear fruit. When it falls on good soil, it bears fruit.
Jesus was preparing his followers for the fact that not everyone who hears God’s good news will be receptive. Some people have hearts like the hard soil, uninterested in the gospel. Others are shallow, only interested in the gospel when it feels good. They fall away when things get difficult. Still others are distracted by the things of this world. They are never really committed to the gospel, so they never bear spiritual fruit.
But Jesus didn’t want his disciples to give up on sharing the gospel. He assured them that some people have hearts that will receive the gospel and nurture it. God’s word will bear fruit in their lives. The work of sharing the good news is worth the effort.
Immediately following the parable of the soils, Jesus follows up with the saying about the lamp. He switches from comparing the gospel to seed and compares it to a lamp. Like a lamp, God’s word should not be hidden away.
When we put Jesus’ two sayings together, we get great encouragement about our efforts to share God’s good news with others. True, many will reject the good news, but some will receive it. So, we should not hide the gospel away.
Every follower of Jesus has the seed of the gospel already growing in his heart. We have the light of Jesus in our souls. Jesus has instructed us not to hide the gospel but to share it with others. God also empowers us with his Spirit, inspiring and enabling us to share the gospel.
God is not calling us all to be preachers, or teachers, or evangelists. His Spirit gives those gifts of service to the ones who are chosen by God. But every follower of Jesus is instructed to testify about Jesus, to be a witness.
We need not be Bible scholars or theologians to tell others about Jesus. Our testimony may be very simple. At times, it may be no more than a couple of sentences in a discussion at work or in the classroom or neighborhood.
The power of the gospel is not in our ability to speak well or be persuasive. The power of the gospel is in the gospel, like the seed and the lamp. When the soil is right, the seed brings the miracle of life. When the lamp is displayed, it gives light. The gospel is no different. When we scatter the seed and display the lamp, God will accomplish amazing things.
Pray and watch for opportunities to say a good word about Jesus. Ask God to give you the discernment to see the opportunities and to take advantage when they come. God’s powerful Spirit will use our feeble efforts to bear fruit for eternal life.
May the Lord inspire and enable us to tell the good news about Jesus,
Brother Richard
brotherrichardsblog.com 