Lighting The Way...

As we come to the end of another year, I have found myself thinking about how we finish a year as a culture. This past week, like most years, was marked by an attitude of reflection. For example, just think of what programs dominate television in the final week of a calendar year. The final week is dominated by “best of” shows. The best football games of 2013. The top 10 movies of 2013. The top 100 songs of 2013. The top ten tragedies of 2013. The top music videos of 2013. It seems that we end every year by looking back and reflecting on the significant events of that year.

And we tend to do the very same thing as individuals, don’t we? In our culture, we have a tendency to spend the last days of the year looking back in the rearview mirror of the past year to reflect on the events and relationships that shaped our lives. And just like our culture, just like individuals, as a church we tend to look back and reflect on the events and the relationships that shaped us as a community in 2013.

But something happens on New Year’s Eve, doesn’t it? On New Year’s Eve, as the ball begins to drop in Times Square, as individuals and as a culture, we begin the transition from a time of reflection and evaluation of the past that is focused on where we presently find ourselves to a time of hope for the future. We begin the attempt to leave the past behind and begin a new year with a new and fresh slate and with new and fresh hope when it comes to our future.  And as part of that process, we sit down and make a list of what we are going to do differently in the New Year. We even have a name for that list, don’t we? We call that list our New Year’s Resolutions.

And what is the case individually is also the case for us as we live life together in community. Just like individuals, as a church, we have a tendency to look at the New Year as a time to reflect on the past, evaluate the present, and plan for the future when it comes to the unique mission that we have been given.

But,as a church, what should be on our New Year’s resolution list? What should our focus and our goal be as a church as plan for the future in 2013? Fortunately for us, in an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible, called the gospel of Matthew, Jesus provides for us a timeless goal that we should strive towards, both as individuals and as a church. So let’s spend our time together by looking at this timeless goal and its implications when it comes to our future plans as a church, beginning in Matthew 5:14:

"You are the light of the world.

As part of perhaps the most famous sermon that Jesus ever preached, which we call the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus paints for the crowds listening to Him a word picture to describe what the world should see when they come into contact with His followers. Jesus explains to the crowds listening to Him that those who follow Him are the light of the world. Now light, by its very nature, has incredible impact and influence when it enters into an environment.

For example, just think what happens when you enter into a dark room that you have never been in before and turn on a light. When you enter a dark room that you have never been in before, do you have any idea what is in there? No, you have no idea. And because of that reality, we often find ourselves groping along the wall looking for the light switch, don’t we?

 But as soon as you turn on that light switch, what happens? As soon as you turn on the light switch, what is in the room is revealed to you isn’t it? As soon as you turn on that light switch, everything in the room is displayed for you to see. The whole point of the light is to reveal and to display what is present in the room.

But light does more than just reveal and display. I experienced another function and purpose of light on a camping trip with my daughter Rachel in the Hualapai’s. When we first moved to Bullhead City, Rachel and I had the opportunity to have a father daughter camping trip in the Hualapai’s. After spending the afternoon hiking, we sat down to eat dinner. As we were eating dinner, several deer basically walked right into the middle of our campsite and started begging for food. They were acting more like a family dog than a wild deer. Rachel, who was in the third grade at the time, was having a blast as she had this up close encounter with the deer.

Well, what ended up happening is that we became so focused on the deer, that before we knew it, it was dark. And I had not gotten the flashlights out of the tent. And then Rachel had to go to the bathroom. So, in the near pitch black darkness, I began groping through our tent in an attempt to find the flashlight so that we could make the trip to the bathroom, because there was no way that Rachel was going to make that trip in the dark.

Fortunately for both of us, I was able to find the flashlight and we were able to make the trip to the bathroom. You see, in the absolute pitch black darkness of that night, the light from that flashlight provided the guidance and direction that we needed to the bathroom. Jesus point here is that in the same way, as the light of the world, followers of Jesus are to reveal and reflect Jesus and help provide the guidance and direction necessary for people to be able to navigate life here on earth.

After providing this word picture what the world should see when they encounter His followers, Jesus provides two additional images to challenge the crowds listening. We will look at those word pictures tomorrow…