You are the Light of the World • Deshen Daily

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid (Matthew 5:14, KJV)

Jesus’s words to his disciples – “You are the world’s light” – extend to all believers. But what does he mean?

Jesus describes a bright lamp in a home, lighting up every corner (Matthew 5:15). Today’s equivalent is the light bulb. Picture your home at night; you flick the switch, and the room bathes in light.

As a believer, you are like this light bulb, a beacon in the world’s darkness. This metaphor mirrors Jesus’ description of Himself in John 8:12 as the Light of the world. As the Anointed One, He revealed the Father, shared understanding, healed, and freed people from numerous bondages, destroying the works of the devil( Acts 10:38). Encountering Jesus, people living in sin, death, and misery saw a different reality—they glimpsed God, who is Light and understood His essence, His intentions for humanity, and His deeds.

As Jesus was the Light, so are we light in the world’s darkness. Jesus clarifies this metaphor: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16, KJV) Our actions illuminate God’s essence, intentions, and deeds. Just as Jesus’s actions disclosed God, so should ours. Jesus taught about the Father, delivered sinners, loved, healed diseases, and freed those tormented by demons. His life and actions enabled the world to experience God in contrast to the prevailing darkness.

In Genesis 1:2, God dispelled the darkness by His spoken word. In Jesus’s days, He dispelled the darkness by the Jesus the Word made flesh. Today, He is doing the same thing by His Word written in the hearts of believers to dispel the darkness of this world.

The world is so dark: people struggle with torments, fears, confusion, sins, etc. The last thing the world needs now is religion or empty theological debates. The world needs us—God’s lights shining brightly through our works.