The Best Investment You Can Make
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”—Matt 5:14-16
There is something beautiful about light, isn’t there? It doesn’t take much to dispel the darkness. Even a small flicker can give hope to a hopeless heart.
When Jesus calls us the light of the world—that’s a big deal. Through His life-giving Spirit imparted to us when we accepted him in faith, we are people who are “lit up”! We are called to shine forth His light, following His lead through this dark world of pain, injustice and evil.
Whether we are a small candle flame or a blazing torch, it is beautiful to those who are desperately searching.
When our small lights join with the many faithful others, we display the glory of God. When we love and care for one another, we speak loudly to the watching world of our faith in Him (John 13:34).
As new creations in Him (2 Cor. 5:17), we are redeemed not just simply for our own good, but sent out to be ambassadors of the beautiful message of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:20).
The good news is we don’t need to be perfect in order to do this. In fact, God has seen fit to entrust this priceless treasure of the Gospel in humble, weak jars of clay (2 Cor. 4:7). Despite our failures and our shortcomings, we can trust that God is at work, using the hard things in life to change us into the likeness of Christ, one degree of glory at a time (Rom. 8:29, Eph. 1:4, 2 Cor. 3:18).
God has destined us for beauty. And He will see to it that it will be done (Phil. 1:6).
So when life is hard, remember this and persevere.
When life is busy, remember this and let it realign your priorities.
When life is good, remember this and keep perspective.
In the end, the book of Revelation tells us that there will be no need of sun any longer (21:23; 22:5) for His glory—He Himself—will be the light.
Until then, for those of us in Christ, we have been entrusted with a great treasure indeed. We are called to live a beautiful life, going through life’s experiences believing they are a foretaste and shadow of even greater glories to come.
Are you living the beautiful life? How do we do this?
I’m glad you asked! If this is your question today, I invite you to check out my free course, A Beautiful Life, through Teachable. Through a series of eight short lessons, we will discover that a beautiful life:
Originates in God’s eternal Story.
Rooted in personal relationship with God.
Intentionally lines up with God’s Story.
Anchors itself in a solid identity in Christ.
Recognizes God’s hand at work in your own life.
Utilizes our gifts and experiences to play our part.
Strategically multiplies disciples
Understands the needs of others
This is the best way to invest our lives. In this course, we will begin connecting the dots and start applying Scripture into our lives in very personal ways. By looking at the long view of Scripture, we will start bringing what we believe into who we are becoming.
When we seek to live a beautiful life, we will be carrying out the call of Christ in Matthew 5:16. We will not merely do good works, but others will see and glorify our God in heaven.
May you too live God’s beautiful life in all that your days.
