This afternoon, we tuned in with the livestreamed service at our sending church in the States. Our pastor’s sermon was focusing on sharing the light of God with others, and it encouraged, motivated, and convicted me immensely. I was inspired to write this post by several thoughts I had while listening to his sermon. Although I will not be mainly talking about evangelism on this blog, I feel something pressing me to right now. Hopefully, this will encourage you as much as it did for me!
The World is Darkness
The world in modern times is not only filled with darkness, but its very core is enveloped in darkness. Everywhere we look- entertainment, media, the internet, pop culture- is filled with sin. The overarching culture of the world is pushing for immorality, deciets, and in general, complete opposition against the Lord.
I feel like a broken record saying that, but sometimes I fear we forget it. Most of the media you see while scrolling aimlessly through social media is, at its root, filled with depravity. Most modern Hollywood movies make light of and even blatantly encourage heavy topics like violence, immorality, and lustful living.
Even if there’s nothing inherently wrong with the things you watch, would Jesus really want you watching a show where the characters are satisfied by “following their dreams?" Yeah, they provide an enjoyable and seemingly innocent source of entertainment, but those little seeds of doubt and lies are being planted in your mind.
“The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” ~Matthew 6:22-23
What you see on a regular basis will eventually slip into your heart. The scary thing is that most of the time, you don’t even realize it until it’s too late to reverse. That Disney song with immoral values is stuck in your head, and you find yourself humming it throughout the day. The foul language from that movie your friend insisted on watching keeps reappearing in your mind, even though you try your best to forget it. A moment before your eyes can possibly be forever in your mind.
To protect our hearts, we must be ever guarding our eyes.
We are the Light
We have the very thing that can defeat the darkness: Jesus. Jesus and His amazing, earth-shaking word. Everyone in life is searching for something to satisfy them. They’ll go to many different things to try to fulfil that desire, but the cause is the same. We are born with a hole in our heart and soul- a hole that Jesus alone can fill. Solomon had everything the world offers: love, power, relationships, entertainment, wealth, fame, wisdom. But none of these things made his life perfect or even happy. At the end of the day, he came to realize that life in and of itself is empty. “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity,” he writes in Ecclesiastes.
God has filled that emptiness for us, but there are so many more people in the world still in need of rescuing. We are the next generation, and we have the ability to flip the world upside down spiritually if the Lord wills it. As Christians, we posses a light that will never be defeated by darkness! Don’t hide that light you have, and don’t be ashamed of it. We are candles, and the only way we can change the world is by holding our flame high in the air. Jesus is that flame. He is the one that can completely destroy the light.
You are just one candle. I am just one candle. But each spark can light an entire nation! We will stand out. As true children of God, we should stand out. But don’t be afraid to share the hope you have, for it’s the only way to truly help the lost.
Side Note:
I have not posted anything as of late, but I will be starting back up this blog! I am still in the process of learning about blog formatting, so please bear with me, haha. Hope to seen the you around!