In this Sunday's Gospel reading, Jesus says, "
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid." (Matthew 5:14)
Elsewhere, He says, "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John *:12)
Yes, we Christians are the light of the world. But we know, it is His light – not our light. As the moon reflects the light of the sun and illumines the dark night, so too we can reflect the light of Christ and bring His illumination to a dark world. His light is ours to share. Light gives hope and encouragement. Of course we can offer that. We can give hope and encouragement to others.
There is a story of a small boy who was in an alley with a broken piece of glass reflecting sunlight into a third story window. A grumpy old man came up to the boy, reprimanding him gruffly, saying, "What mischief are you up to now?" The little boy replied, "Nothing, sir. But I have a crippled brother living up there on that floor. No sunlight ever gets into his room. The only sunlight he ever sees is what I reflect from this little piece of glass."
People of faith understand that we are the light of the world only insofar as we reflect the light of the Lord. But in reality, that can be so easy to do. Can you offer hope? Can you give encouragement? Can you lend a hand? Can you share the message of Christ and tell how He has worked in your life? Of course you can.