A Light In the Darkness
“Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine!” Matthew 5:14-16 The Message
We live in a world of darkness. A cursed and perverse evil world of wickedness in which the sons of disobedience live and conduct themselves under the influence of the evil powers of satan (Ephesians 2:2-3). There is a constant confrontation between evil and good. A battle between good and evil, truth and lies, or another way to describe it, darkness versus light. But Jesus, in his death, burial, and resurrection, destroyed the power of satan. Jesus destroyed the power of evil (Revelation 1:18 and Colossians 2:15). However, as long as satan is loose on this earth, the sons of disobedience will walk in darkness seeking to overpower the light of the righteous ones (Revelation 20).
The LORD has commanded us to arise and shine (Isaiah 60:1-3), to let our light shine. To set it on a lamp stand for all to see (Matthew 5:14-15). Our light must pierce through the darkness and overpower the darkness. But how do we arise and shine? How do we shine our light brightly before all to see? One word, confrontation. The light must confront the darkness and that darkness can never overtake the light. Light always wins.
The confrontation between light and darkness produces a cataclysmic clash. Entrenched darkness will not always easily move and give way to the light. Darkness will always try to overpower the light, but it cannot. Darkness hates exposure to light (John 3:19-20). The darkness of evil in this world is like a very deep and dark canyon that seldom sees the light of the sun and struggles to be lit by sunlight. However, all it takes is the light to shine in that canyon, and the light pierces and penetrates the darkness. It takes very little light to begin to push back the darkness.
We are to be a light set on a hill and on a lamp stand (Matthew 5:14-16). Therefore, we are called to confront the darkness, the evil, and the lies of satan that are manifested on this earth through the sons of disobedience. There is a place for prayer since we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the evil powers of satan (Ephesians 6:12). There is a place for the preaching of the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Mark 16:15-18). But there is also a place for us to make righteous judgments that execute the judgment of God through righteous acts and righteous words that confront the darkness (John 7:24 and Deuteronomy 16:18). And this is not just the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but by taking action in this world to speak up against workers of iniquity who are in positions of power. And this includes so-called righteous ones in positions of power who refuse to stand up against wickedness.
Jesus is an example for us with his constant rebukes of the religious leaders. Another example is John the Baptist. Jesus called him the greatest man born of a woman in the Old Testament (Matthew 11:11). John the Baptist confronted the evils of Herod (Mark 6:18), leading to his imprisonment, and ultimately his beheading. And we cannot forget David and Goliath. David stood up against Goliath and made a righteous judgment, decreeing the Word of the Lord, and he followed through with action by charging at Goliath. Down went Goliath and the Philistines in defeat (1 Samuel 17).
One area of significant displeasure for God, hated by God, is the abuse of power to oppress and deny justice. God asks that we make righteous judgments in this area. To be a light through our actions and words. To oppress, mistreat, or take advantage of other persons—particularly orphans, widows, and strangers—is to be an enemy of God (Exodus 22:22-24; Deuteronomy 14:29, 24:19-21, 26:12-13, 27:19; Isaiah 1:17; Zechariah 8:16-17; James 1:22, 27; and 1 John 3:16-18). Proverbs 6:16-19 tells us what God truly hates. God expects us never to abuse other persons. And those who are in positions of power must ensure they never abuse their powers. This includes every area of human relations.
We cannot remain silent and allow the darkness to swallow up the light. We must take a stand against evil in this world and speak up against it. From our day-to-day lives all the way up to the highest levels of power. The righteous are called to be as bold as a lion (Proverbs 28:1). We must rise up, speak up, and boldly act. And be a bright shining light for all to see and to dispel darkness.
I once had to stand up and make a righteous judgment, to be that light in the darkness. I spoke up and defended a falsely accused subordinate, refusing to bear false witness against the subordinate. An example of being a light in a dark world. If we refuse to stand up and speak up in similar situations, we will allow darkness to overtake the light and evil will prevail. If we do not rise and lift a standard against the darkness, evil will swallow up the light. It is time for the righteous to be a light in the darkness. Stand up and speak up against evil. We have a voice and must not allow evil to overcome good through inaction. My testimony on how I spoke up and refused to be a false witness against a subordinate can be seen in below video.
