Living as children of light
Published:Thursday | April 20, 2017 | 11:58 AMShanique Samuels
'Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven' is a famous Bible verse taken from the teachings of Christ in Matthew 5:16. Evidently, living as 'children of light' means that as Christians, you are always expected to let your behaviour and action, reflect in such a way that others in the world will see them and give credit or glory to God. This is to be true in all areas of our lives. In the Bible, 'light' is used to represent God or God's truth, and in contrast, 'darkness' represents evil or the devil and his doings.
According to minister of religion at the Seventh-Day Adventist Central Jamaica Conference, John F.K. Martin, where there is darkness (evil), there needs to be light (God's truth), and the children of the light must apprehend the darkness so others can see.
"We as Christians have a light, and we must shine that light and be an example to others. The Bible says a man who has light cannot put it under a table. he cannot hide it, it has to be seen. Black represents darkness, which is of the devil, but Christ represents the light, and as children of Christ, our light has to shine. we have to be bright, brilliant, and radiant in our words, thoughts, and actions so that the light of Christ, which we have within us, will continue to emanate outwards," he explained to Family & Religion.
The spirited minister further explained that Christians represent Christ on the inside, which dictates who they are on the outside. However, Christ is sometimes misrepresented by the way Christians dress and by questionable actions based on their behaviour, and so as a result, it seems that darkness has crept into the church and overshun the light.
set an example
"Going back to the case of the pastor who was charged with (allegedly) molesting a child it's like a cloud of darkness that seemed to take over almost all of the church because several other similar cases involving pastors being charged with sexual offences came out because of that one incident. We need to set an example for sinners to see as to where we want to go and how we direct our lives as Christians. We as children of light must ensure that those in darkness (sin) see our light and will be encouraged to come to Christ."
In seeking to drive home his point, Martin quoted 1 John 1:7: "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ, His son, cleanses us from all sin." It is important for Christians to live as children of light because we need to be an example for others. That is why God caused His son, Jesus Christ, to come down from heaven to earth to be an example for us. He was the light who came to lead this world out of darkness," he said.
"As Christians, we have a life to live and the world is looking to us. And so as children of God (light), we need to ensure we portray light in how we dress and how we behave," he concluded.