Let your light shine
Jesus does not tell His followers to shine so that people will admire them. The light points away from itself, toward the Father who gives it.
Most of the time, our light shows up in ordinary things: keeping a promise, speaking gently, doing work well. Ask God today to make your ordinary good works point to Him.
Father, I do not want to shine for my own sake. Let my words and my work today point people toward You. Keep me from hiding Your light, and keep me from making it about me. Amen.
φῶς (phōs (fohs)). “Light.” In the Sermon on the Mount, light is not a private possession. It is meant to be seen, the way a lamp is set on a stand so it can light up the whole house.
Matthew 5 opens the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has just described His disciples as the salt of the earth, and light is the next image. Both are everyday things that do their work by being present and useful.
Adoniram Judson completed his translation of the whole Bible into Burmese after years of work in Burma. He had faced imprisonment, the death of his wife, and many hardships along the way.