You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick and it gives light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven. Matthew 5: 14-16

As believers, we are the light of the world. Light is a  remarkable form of energy produced by luminous objects. According to John 1:3-5 it says that all things were made by the Word (Jesus) and that everything was made by him. It says that in him was life and he was the light of men. We are the light of the world because we carry his light within us.

Light can travel through vacuum, and can penetrate through transparent materials but cannot pass through opaque objects. As Jesus said here in Matthew 5, we can’t hide his true light. Either we have it and show it, or we do not. We can’t hide it any more than we can hide a candle under a bushel basket. Either the candle will go out, or it will burn up the basket.

Another characteristic of light is that light will  bounce back when made to fall on polished surfaces such as mirrors or metal surfaces. This bouncing back of light is described as reflection. It takes the path of least time in passing from one point to the other. When we display the light of Christ in our lives, we reflect his love for those around us. If our love is genuine, anyone who receives our love will reflect that same love.

The change in the velocity of light when it travels from one transparent medium to another is described as refraction. This refraction distorts the light. Sin causes refraction in the light that we shine. If we have unforgiveness, fear, pride, or selfishness of any kind in our lives, it distorts how others see our light.

Our primary responsibility as Christians is to reflect God’s love in our lives. We are to let our light shine and not be hid. We must not let sin distort it. We must do things in such a way that everyone will recognize that the great works that we do are not of ourselves, but comes from God. They, in turn, will glorify our Father who lives in Heaven.