“Shine for God!” Well we Christians are very familiar with that line, aren’t we? We say it and hear it all the time. It’s in the Scriptures we read, the sermons we listen, and the songs we sing. But if our nature as a Christian is to shine for God then why aren’t we seeing it in the church, in society, in marketplaces? Well im sure there must be at least some Christians at our marketplace, in our schools, in the supermarket etc. Then why aren’t they shining?! Why aren’t we shining?! Now that brought me back to think what does shining for God means.
What many people always think of shining for God is in the works that we do for Christ, our performances – how well we do, how high we can score in our exams, how far the target I can hit in my sales, how good I can perform in front of my boss, so that when people asks of our success we can say it is God who brought us the win – and we call that shining for God. That’s the method we do, that’s the route most of us walk. But is that the most effective way? I’m not saying it is wrong, in fact to go for excellence is a very biblical principal, but I do not agree to the methods. Striving for excellence with human’s limited strength and wisdom brings us to fall (yes Albert Einstein worked so hard for a lightbulb to glow, it must need extraordinary and supreme determination to do it. Steve Jobs did a superb job on advancing technology, but still he passed one day), we even find very shocking news how people would manoeuvred to get their goals, be it Christian or not, that is human’s limitation, that’s the norm in this world. Don’t get me wrong I’m not referring that to all the public. Yes, I do know of many people who walk and do righteously in climbing their way up to success. Praise God for that! But it is tiring ain’t it? If we don’t hit our targets at the bull’s eye, it can be disappointing, no? So do I mean shining for God is a tiring thing to do? Absolutely no! That shouldn’t be.
So if I don’t shine by proving my works, what and how do I shine? I believe the core of being a Christian is all about this man named Jesus, and what He has done on that cross 2000 years ago, that changed the course of all human history. You tell me you are a Christian today can’t escape the truth that it is this Jesus who brought you to your new identity this day. So how to shine? Shine based on what He has done! It’s just as simple as that. We shine what God has done in our lives, we shine the transformed work of Christ in us without having us doing anything! It’s not about our outward doings and never our strivings for excellent performances to shine for Him. Shining for God is never having our involvement in it, it is having no addictives of our part added to it. If it is so, then it is not pure shining anymore! Because humans are imperfect! What makes us perfect in righteousness is the work of Christ on the cross where He exchanged His righteousness to us, and our unrighteousness to Him. There’s where the veil of the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle of God was torn so that we do not need the blood of bulls and goats to cleanse us of our sins. There’s where all our sins have been forgiven and we are made righteous forever. There’s where we can have direct access to God without having to go through human-priests. And there’s where the old covenant was broken and the new covenant established! You see, it’s all solely the work of Jesus. So it is also His part to let Him shine for all to see, we don’t interfere!
What Christ has brought to you is GRACE (His finished work), no more LAW (methods, works, striving, sweat)! When you accept Him, you accept all the things He did and make it personal to you. Galatians 2:20-21, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” The old covenant (law) has passed, and the new covenant (grace) has come. We are called into the new covenant, into grace says Hebrews 8:8-13. So it is the same with shining for God, not by our works, but by the finished work of Christ.
Matthew 5:14-15, “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”. What we have been doing with our performances and claim it to shine for God is like lighting a lamp and put it under a bowl – not 100% giving its full light, and soon the light will be put off! See that even the verse involves action words, actions = works. Works (the law) brings death (to the work of Christ), 2 Corinthians 3:6 NLT. Death = light does not shine. But instead we should put it on its stand – do nothing and just let it glow for all to see! And that light is 100%. Being a vessel of God purely just mean being a vessel – not standing in between our works and God, no. Our works are opaque, it diminishes the full amount of light that can be shone. Just like grace is free, so should we be free from our “added” works, and let alone for the work of Christ to shine in us and through us.
Let His light shine you to success, and all you need to do is just follow the light, nothing else. Let’s be hollow and let the light of God shine to its best! That’s the best way to shine for God.
Cheers people! :)
