Light up the darkness

Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we're proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, "Light up the darkness!" and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful. If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us. As it is, there's not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we're not much to look at. We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we're not demoralized; we're not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn't left our side; we've been thrown down, but we haven't been broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us - trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us - he lives!  2 Corinthians 4:5-10 The Message

There is so much to be gleaned from this passage of scripture written by the Apostle Paul, a man whose encounter with Jesus was dramatic by anyone's standard. Throughout all his experiences after his conversion, he is constantly saying (my paraphrase), 'It isn't about me, it's about Jesus. It is all about Jesus, who He is, and what He has done for us.' 

In this scripture Paul is explicit in saying (my paraphrase again), 'We have suffered. We don't have all the answers. We don't know everything. But we do have Jesus. It is Jesus light that shines and gives hope, not us.' The Amplified Bible puts it this way,

However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves. 2 Corinthians 4:7 AMP

In our lives we can sometimes be 'surrounded and battered by troubles', and our challenge during those times is to let God's light continue to shine out of our lives. It is hard, I know from experience.  We want to run away, or have all our troubles taken away, but it doesn't work like that. God wants us to run to Him, so He can show His 'exceeding greatness of power' to others through our lives. It actually isn't about us, it is all about God's plan to reconcile us to Him.

But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself [received us into favour, brought us into harmony with Himself] and gave us to the ministry or reconciliation [that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him]. 2 Corinthians 5:18 AMP

Question for today, is there some struggle or trouble in your life that you would like to disappear? Ask God to show you how to use this circumstance to let His light shine through you. There will be a way, even if it is a small flicker of light to begin with. Give Jesus the opportunity to shine His light out of the darkness in your life. Pray for people in your sphere of influence to see His light in your life and move further along their path of reconciliation with Jesus, and grow in their understanding of Jesus.

For all [these] things are [taking place] for your sake, so that the more grace (divine favour and spiritual blessing) extends to more and more people and multiplies through the many, the more thanksgiving may increase [and redound] to the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 4:15 AMP