unpack the Word

We're using to hearing that, as Christians, we are to be the light of the world. It's a bit of a cliche at this point. Children sing songs about it and politicians invoke it in speeches, but how do we interpret and apply being the light of the world? What does that actually mean?

Being the light of the world, for me, immediately draws my mind into the realm of metaphor. Metaphors are tools that we use to communicate ideas that can be difficult to understand. A metaphor maps something we’re familiar with onto something we might struggle to comprehend. In using the concepts of light and darkness, and specifically of being a light, Jesus maps a spiritual truth onto a worldly example we can grasp and understand.

But, do we really dig into what this metaphor means? One thing I tend to think about a lot is how we fall into the trap of church language. What I mean by church language is that the language that we use at church and only at church becomes a lingo and shorthand that we often fail to interrogate beyond the surface level. One of my goto examples is the word “sanctified.” How often do you use sanctified in your daily conversations? Could you give a quick definition of the term if you had to, without help from a dictionary?

If you’re like me, terms like sanctified require a constant effort to frame and understand properly because they are simply church words, words we only use at church and in religious contexts. Functionally, that means that we don’t have the same inherent emotional and cultural ties to these words as we do words that we use regularly. For words to have power, they have to resonate with us. I find that many times church words don’t resonate as well as they should because we simply don’t use them enough to have an intrinsic understanding of them.

So, let’s return to the idea of light of the world. What do I mean that this is a church word? Well, I mean that the concept often gets simplified down to something like the song, “This Little Light of Mine.” We think, “Yeah, the kids song.” Or, we simply think, “Oh yes, a light.” We don’t take it further than that. We keep it at the surface.

The idea of being a light, however, I think has untapped potential for helping us frame our Christian walks and how we see ourselves and those around us. So, if you’ll humor me, that’s what I want to talk about for the rest of the blog: seeing the depth and impact of this metaphor instead of leaving it alone as a simply church word expression that we smile at while thinking about children waving their index fingers around.

The passage that really helped shift my understanding of “light of the world” from being a simple church phrase to something I interrogated more was Ephesians 5:8 and following. In Ephesians, Paul the Apostle writes to the church that “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” For me, the idea that outside of Christ we were once darkness suddenly hit me in a way that made the metaphor click and more powerful.

Darkness is the absence of light. If we don’t have Christ, we don’t contribute any light to the world around us. We don’t help others see the true reality of the world and our Creator and His love. Instead, we’re just part of the darkness. By not having light, we are darkness living in a world of darkness. It’s a bit of a chilling image, but there is a positive side!

When we walk around in our daily lives, those around us without Christ rely on us as their lights. Otherwise, they are surrounded by darkness because they don’t emit their own light. They are simply living in the dark. When we come into their lives, even in brief moments, we are in a place where we can bring light into their lives, where we can be the light in their world, drawing them to Christ.

For me, thinking through the metaphor makes it hit home for me in a way that simply reading “light of the world” doesn’t. When I’m in the world, I’m to be serving as a light to those around me. They’re not going to necessarily see light without my providing it to them (or someone else in their life). That makes my contribution so much more important! Much like a lighthouse keeper, I need to work to make sure my light is always shining so they can see a deeper spiritual reality to our lives and our existence. That is my role. I am to be a light as Christ was a light, as we’re told in John 1:

In the coming days, think through this metaphor in your life and your walk as a Christian. Use good works and use love to show others God’s light. Be the light in a world that is shrouded in darkness, and help lead those around you to the welcoming light of God’s love.