Luke 11:33 (ESV) “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.
In this passage, you as a believer are to be like a lamp set on a stand for all to see the light of Jesus. We are not to be silenced, we are not to be quiet, we are not to hide, we are to shine. Everyone you know should know that you are a follower of Jesus. Everyone you know should have heard how to believe in Jesus, multiple times. Now, Jesus goes into more detail on how we can let our light shine brightly in a dark world.
Luke 11:34-35 (ESV) Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness.
Your eye in these verses speaks of what you literally look at and what you focus on in life. When your eye is healthy, it will be focused on Jesus and His Word. Jesus is the light of the world, and so when you look at Him, you are filled with light. A bad eye is focused on things other then Jesus, which is darkness. When you focus on darkness, then your whole being will be plunged into darkness. Darkness is where demons dwell. Jesus warns his followers, don’t let the light in you become darkness by focusing on the wrong things.
Luke 11:36 (ESV) If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”
Jesus concludes with a wonderful promise. When our eye is focused on Jesus and so we are full of light, what will be the result? The result will be that the light of Jesus will shine through giving light to all those around. We will be that lamp set on a stand for everyone to see the light of Jesus.
In today’s world, our eyes are more important than ever before in the history of the world. For most of world history, in order to see something that was bad, you had to travel to a bad place to observe evil. With the advent of movie theaters, you could see all kinds of bad things, but you had to go to the theater. Now, you can see any kind of evil thing on your phone and no one will even know you are looking at it. You can communicate with an evil person on the other side of the world if you so choose.
Are phones evil? No, they can be used for good or evil. Let’s use them for good, keeping our eyes healthy, so that our light can shine. You can let your light shine through your phone. You can let your light shine through Facebook. Keep your eyes focused on Jesus and let your light shine to everyone you can reach. Overcome the enemy inside
Today’s message from God’s Word really begins with our last point. We need to cultivate healthy eyes, focused on Jesus and His word. Be careful what you look at, what you focus on. Don’t cover up your light, let it shine. People are going to oppose you, they are going to try to stop the light from you.
Why? Because it exposes the sin and evil in their lives. Rejoice and just keep you light shining. Finally, behind all our battles in life is Satan and his army of demons. Yes, they really are everywhere. May God use us to set people free to follow Jesus more and more.