Turn The Lights On

You are the light of the world.
A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.

Satan, the Liar

I was sitting with some of my friends in the dim cafeteria, enjoying some cookies. All of a sudden, the lights brightened, and the whole room lit up. I was able to see my friends more clearly. They are all so unique and lovely, and once the lights were turned on, I saw their beauty in a way that I couldn’t see it in the dark. The yellows and reds and greens—all of the colors of the room appeared more vibrant. I was refreshed simply because I could see better. I noticed that sometimes we don’t realize how dark it is until the light is turned on.

We live in a world that is ruled by the enemy. In 2 Corinthians 11:14 we are told that Satan masquerades as an angel of light. To masquerade is to pretend to be something one is not, and Satan is really good at it.

When the enemy approached Eve in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3, the first words out of his mouth were a question: “Did God really say . . .” (verse 1, emphasis added). Eve proceeded to respond with confidence in what God had told her, but with strategic determination the enemy came back with a statement that twisted the words God had spoken to her. She then began to doubt and believed the lie of the enemy, and it caused her to hide from God.

In other words, Satan is actually the father of lies who has come to steal, to kill, and to destroy (John 8:44; 10:10). He is the one who prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, and God’s Word tells us that he is, in fact, our enemy (1 Peter 5:8), but his appearance may deceive us (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). He is very good at making a dim room appear perfectly fine so that we may never experience the joy and freedom of what it really looks like to live with the lights turned on.

The Truth Sets Us Free

The strategy of the enemy is still the same today as it was in the beginning. He questions the truth of God and feeds us lies with the purpose of leading us to walk in darkness and hide from the very One we were made to worship and be in an intimate relationship with. He seeks to blind us to who we are in Christ and who Christ really is. When it comes time to look in the mirror, instead of it being a time to praise God for the work of art that He handcrafted, it has become a time to pick apart every flaw and to despise the very things that the Lord is enthralled by.

How can we fight back against Satan’s lies? When we know the truth, the truth will set us free, and we will begin to discover what life was really designed to be (John 8:32). We are told that God has called us out of the darkness and into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). We were made to be children of the light (Ephesians 5:8). His light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it (John 1:5). When we look to God, our faces are radiant, we are never covered with shame, and we never have to hide (Psalm 34:5).

You don’t have to stay in darkness. You don’t have to believe what Satan says, but instead, you can walk in the truth of what God says.

Gospel Light

There are many living in this world who have listened to the lies of the enemy for so long that, just like me in that dark cafeteria, they think the dimness is normal. The enemy has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they may not see the light of the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4). But the light of the gospel is alive and well within every believer.

Since we are sons and daughters of the Father of Light, Jesus has told us, “You are the light of the world. A town built 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 others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).

You were meant to be a light—to drive out the darkness of Satan! God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). He shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot, has not, and never will overcome Him (John 1:5). Through Jesus, we have been given the complete authority to walk in this power (Luke 10:19). God has called us out of the darkness and into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9), but this is not so that we may keep it to ourselves; it’s so that we may share it with the world that is hurting in the darkness. We are the light of the world. Just as I was able to see the beauty of my friends and see the vibrancy of all the colors in the cafeteria once the light was turned on, so it is that when we choose to let the light of Jesus shine from within us, the beauty in others and the colors of this world will be brought to life and will be seen for what God intended in the very beginning.