A LAMP WILL ALWAYS SHINE ITS LIGHT

We are all lamps for the eternal LIGHT, the LORD Jesus Christ. We are expected by our LORD, to stand on His behalf, and shine our light for His glory, and for the blessing of His people. This is what the LORD Jesus said while speaking to masses of people, in Matthew 5…
– “16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:16

The most natural nature of any lamp, big or small is, to let its light to shine forth. In this is, not only its calling and purpose, but also its fulfillment. That is exactly what the LORD Jesus says…
– *”14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.” – Matthew 5:14-15

Jesus further emphasises the significance of bearing fruit, as a sign of being a Christian and His disciple, in John 15:8…
– “8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
Bearing fruit as a Christian is directly linked to we being true and authentic disciple. Notice the emphasis of Jesus in the latter part of the verse – “…SO YOU WILL BE MY DISCIPLES.”

On 28 June, 1770 the French Quaker abolitionist, Anthony Benezet dares to do something, to uplift the black slaves in America. What a courageous man should Benezet be, that he dared to open a school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for African Americans? “African Americans” sound so sanitised and saintly, that it hides and glosses over the sting, and the stigma, of being a “negro” and a slave. Oh the sophistication and the skill, of weaving words, and drawing circles, to trip us? Only a few can match such cunning and cleverness, that can make the enslaved feel “proud” and “empowered” for being made a slave.

Brittanica website record this about Anthony Benezet – “Benezet was an ardent abolitionist, writing and distributing pamphlets at his own expense to encourage opposition to slavery and the slave trade. Late in his life he established and taught a school for blacks, and in his will he left his modest estate to endow the school.”

Anthony Benezet does not stop with that. He goes much further than that. Five years later, in 1775, Benezet establishes the first abolitionist society in North America – “the Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage.” Benezet is truly shining for His God, who created everyone in His image – Genesis 2:26-28. This is precisely, what it means, to shine our light, for the glory of our God. Calling a sin a sin, and doing something positive and constructive about the wrong being committed, in total disregard for the consequences of such an action.

Many a good man uses reason and rationale to “dowse” their light, believing that, they can serve the LORD more effectively, in the days to come, by being silent, about the wrongs and the evil being committed…especially by the Church. I see the Priest, and the Levite, in this argument, more than the Good Samaritan. So sad and tragic, that we see things that way, even today.

May the LORD help us to shine brightly for the LORD, who did not shy away to die for us on the cross of Calvary. When we truly love the LORD, we will surely and certainly shine for Him at all times, regardless of our personal discomfort and suffering. Even so, the LORD help us to shine for Him, and Him alone.