4 Ways you May Be Hiding your Light {In the Light Series}

"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." Matthew 5:14-16

A dear, dear friend of mine shared some amazing truths about being a light with me not long after I started this series on living in the light. She was gracious enough to let me take her notes from her and share with all of you another aspect of living in the light with all of you.

Sometimes we live in darkness, and often - probably more blatant than dark living as outline in scripture - is hiding our light. Instead of being this bright city on a hill that points to Christ through our lifestyle and words with pointing to the Gospel, we hide our light under a "basket", so to speak.

How do we hide our light? What "baskets" do we use to cover our light?

We hide under the basket of disobedience by not saying or do what we know we ought to. Instead of standing up for the truth or speaking the truth to others, we sit back and do and say nothing. We see needs of others - whether physical, spiritual, etc. - and do
nothing about those needs. We give ourselves excuses on why we don't share the gospel and then don't share it.

We hide under the basket of embarrassment and fear by wanting to fit in with the crowd. We care more about how we may be perceived to others than sharing the truth with
them.

We hide under the basket of our stubborn hearts and minds by wanting our way above what God wants. We let our pride get in the way of being humble before the Lord.

We hide under the basket of resentment and regret by letting our past hurt keep us from moving forward in God's grace towards us and others. We keep going back to blaming God and others for the issues instead of allowing healing to occur.

You want to know all these baskets are? They are all sin! James 4:17 talks about how it's sin to not do the right thing when you know it. Galatians 1:10 points out how we are to live for God and not for human approval - you cannot live to approve both perfectly. In Mark 7:22, Jesus lists pride as an evil result of our flesh - because pride is thinking we know better than God, right? Galatians 5:20 includes part of the list of the acts of our flesh, which include hatred, jealousy, discord, and selfish ambitions.

We seem to decorate these sins to look nicer than our blatant dark living sin - because we use pretty "Christianese" language to write off OUR sin as excusable. But sin is still sin folks!

So what do you need to do today to let your light shine before others?
 • Ask God to reveal your baskets of sin that you're hiding under.
     
 • Confess your sin and repent from your wrong doing - remove the basket!!
  
 • Put Christ back on the throne and be filled with the Holy Spirit to guide you and lead you into the truth.
   
 • Obey Christ by letting your light shine! Share the gospel freely and boldly. Stand for truth and the things that are at God's heart. Open your eyes to the needs of others and meet them. James 1:22; 2:22,26 all share how our faith needs to be united with action to show that our faith isn't dead, but living and active as God Himself!

About Leah

Leah works with Master Plan Ministries at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. Other than watching college students' lives change, she enjoys getting her mind blown by God and His Word, watching sci fi, baking cupcakes, and spending time with her hunky husband. 

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