Jesus Project, Day 10

We come to the last post in this series and what the hey, let's finish with Matthew 5 again: "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

I'm going to begin my response to this quote by quoting the first book of John:  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

For some reason when I was growing up, I had the impression that we as human beings came out of the womb with a need to apologize -- that because we can sin, and because we are mere dust, we have no right to so much as ask for God's presence.  Keep in mind that I grew up Catholic, and though a lot of how someone comes out of Catholicism depends greatly on how we're taught and our societal culture, I think that feeling unworthy is part of the package.

But as John said, Christ was with God, part of God, and also the light and life of this world.  It is from Christ that all life is made.  It is with the light of Christ that YOU were made.  How could we ever believe that we are unworthy?  Or that God isn't paying attention to us?  Jesus himself says, "YOU are the light of the world."

I have known people who have a very visible light within them -- a light that you know could be like a nuclear bomb in brightness if they dared to let it blaze.  When they do allow the grace of their talents, work or love to flow into the world, it feels like witnessing miracles.  You know that God is present at that moment.

Christ knows what lives within us. He knows that light of life that he placed within each heart.  I think that in this quote from Matthew, Christ is calling us to live, work, love and play with every bit of ourselves.  Let YOUR light shine before all.  Let that Grace of God flow through everything you do so that you can kindle the hearts of those around you.  Cause when you do, it will feel for all of us like a miracle.