Children of God

When we read Matthew 5:14 which records Jesus saying to us, "You are the light of the world,"  one of the first things we think about is that children's song, "This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine."  The song's reference to putting that little light under a bushel makes it clear that the inspiration of the song is from this passage in the Sermon on the Mount.  It is a fun song to sing.  When it is announced, young and old enjoy making all the motions that go with the singing.   

 

There is one huge problem with this song about the little light.  It teaches bad theology. There is nothing little about the light of which Jesus spoke that day.  It is the eternal light of which Genesis speaks in its very first verses.  The light which Jesus saw afire in each one of us is the light of Genesis 1:3.  It is the creative light which defines who we are.  The light Jesus saw in those who listened that day and who continue to hear the echoes of His voice first spoken from that mountain is described by the Apostle John as the light that "...shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it."  (John 1:5).  The light Jesus saw in us is not the light turned on by our education, or that burns because of determination and will power.  It is a light that is separate from us; yet, one without which we could not be.   

 

When Jesus spoke that day He was not speaking of a little light, but the eternal light which first shined in us at conception and which defines who we are and to Whom we belong.  It is in the forgetting that the essence of our life is about this eternal life that has led to our choosing the darkness of separation from our Creator. This spiritual amnesia causes us to choose a way inconsistent with the purpose for which He created us.  When Jesus came to shine among us, He reminded us that our choosing the darkness may prevent us from seeing the eternal light within us, but no choice of ours can ever extinguish or overcome it.  We are bearers of eternal light and when He came, He called us to see and to claim once again our birthright as sons and daughters of God our Father.