𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗜𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲, 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗜𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲, 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗜𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲
You remember the song, don’t you? “𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦…” We sang it as kids, waving our fingers in the air like tiny torches. We even had that one verse about not letting Satan blow it out (puff!)—which, let’s be honest, was everyone’s favorite part.
But somewhere along the way, we grew up. Life happened. Responsibilities piled up. And without even realizing it, we stopped singing. Maybe not out loud, but in our hearts. Our “little light” started to flicker, or worse—fade completely.
Jesus had something to say about that.
𝘼 𝙇𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝘾𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝘽𝙚 𝙃𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙣
“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 (ESV)
Jesus didn’t say, “Try to be the light.” He didn’t say, “On your best days, you might shine.” No, He said, “You are the light of the world.” That’s an identity statement. If you belong to Christ, you are a light—period. The question isn’t whether you have a light; the question is whether you’re letting it shine.
And did you catch why? It’s not about us. It’s about God’s glory. When we shine, people see Him. When we hide our light—when we shrink back in fear, blend in with the world, or keep quiet about our faith—we’re essentially putting a basket over the very thing Jesus called us to be.
𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝘽𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙚𝙩?
What keeps us from shining? Here are a few “baskets” we tend to hide under:
𝙁𝙚𝙖𝙧 — What if they judge me? What if I don’t have the right words?
𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩 — It’s easier to stay quiet. Someone else will do it.
𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙚 — If I live like everyone else, I won’t stand out.
𝘽𝙪𝙨𝙮𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 — I’ll shine later… when life slows down.
Sound familiar? The enemy doesn’t have to snuff out our light; he just has to convince us to cover it up.
𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙄𝙩 𝙎𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚!
So, how do we actually shine? Here are a few practical ways:
1. 𝙇𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 — Let your actions reflect Christ (Colossians 3:12-14).
2. 𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙗𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙡𝙮 — Share your faith with love and confidence (Romans 1:16).
3. 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙡𝙮 — Show kindness, even when it’s inconvenient (John 13:35).
4. 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙚 — The closer you are to Jesus, the brighter you shine (John 8:12).
Here's a challange for you: Do something this week that lets your light shine in a real, tangible way. Maybe it’s starting a conversation about Jesus, praying for a coworker, or choosing kindness when it’s hard. Whatever it is, be intentional.