How Bright is Your Light?

Ye shall know them by their fruits.

 Matthew 7:16

Two brothers were talking one day, when one said to the other, "When I'm older, "I'll find me a hideout in the mountains and rob the rich guys."  Before his shocked mother could respond, the other brother said, "Not me, I'm going to be a medical missionary somewhere in a needy continent like Africa."  The next day the mother narrated the incident to her neighbor, finally exclaiming, "Can you imagine that?  In the same home and with the same training!"

Have you ever wondered how siblings can turn out so differently even when they share the same set of biological parents?  Or why a dress can look so different when worn by two different people?  Or have you ever wondered why believers think and act so differently even though they serve the same Lord? 

Sometimes, this is how we feel when we encounter people who profess to be believers but have little evidence to show for it.  Indeed, the Bible warns us against judging others or comparing ourselves to others (Philippians 2:3; 1 Corinthians 4:5; Matthew 7:1), but the Bible also says, “Ye shall know them by their fruits (Matthew 7:16).  What kind of fruit are you bearing and when the world interacts with you, what do they see? 

The world is hungry for evidence that Jesus lives in us.  Will you let your light shine bright today?

Dear God, I am incapable of keeping the light bright, but I ask, that you would let your light shine through me today in practical ways.Sensitize me to those I meet, so that I might be a messenger of your light to them. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen!