You Are The Light

By Dr. Norman Lund

John Wesley was asked why so many people came lo hear him. "When you're on fire," he said, "people want to see what makes you burn." William Tyndale, the father of the English Bible was burned at the stake in 1536. His last reported words, "OLord, may the King see the light!"

Wherefrom? Jesus said it: "You are the light of the world." (Matthew 5:14) The pronoun he used is second person plural: you-j together. Who were these "YOU"? Matthew tells us that they were those who "followed him" (4:19-20).

Jesus' followers can't always see each other. Often we appear to be alone. We are like Alexamenus whose name appears on an ancient wall uncovered by archeologists. It seems to have been part of a dormitory for page boys in the Roman senate. The anti-Christian graffiti includes a figure drawn on a cross, with the body of a man but the head of a donkey. Below the cross is a boy with one hand raised toward the cross in a gesture of worship. Beneath, these words are scribbled in Greek, "Alexamenus worships his God."

This young follower of Jesus probably felt he was all alone. But he was not jand the light of his testimony still shines! He was a member of that great army who follow Jesus. In a letter to Peter, his barber, Martin Lutherwrote in 1535: "Never think you are kneeling orstanding alone; rather think that the whole of Christendom, all devout Christians, are standing there beside you, and you are standing beside them."

He said. You ARE the light of the world. This must be a mistake. Didn't Jesus mean, you "should be" or "might be" or "could be"? How can he use the present tense? Look aroundjit's pretty dark!

According to Garbler's Educational Research News I .clter. the top five disciplinary problems in public schools in 1940 were talking in class, chewing gum, making noise, running in the halls, and getting out of turn. In 1982 the top five were rape, robbery, assault, burglary, arson q.ivin]; World. Spring 1990).

This morning one-third of American children woke upinafatherless home. It is estimated that by the year 2000, one half will live in a single parent home before their 18th birthday.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds. Between 1950 andl980 suicide skyrocketed over 300 percent. One out ofeverysevenadolescentsattemptedsuicidein 1989 (New Dimensions. Feb. 1990).

A 1991 study in Indiana found that 30 percent of 12-year-old girls and 50 percent of 12-year-old boys had had sexual intercourse at least once. There are about one million teenage pregnancies each year, with about 400,000 ending in abortion. Teens who can't get an aspirin from the school nurse can have a legal abortion without their parents' knowledge. Yes, pretty dark!

Richard Halverson, Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, shocked many Christians a few years ago when he wrote an article called, "Why Should God Visit Us...When We're Not Interested?" (Christianity .Today.) He said, "...our prayerlessness is more responsible for failure than are our public servants... the prayers of God's people are more important even than the decisions made in die White House, Congress and the Supreme Court."

Prayerlessness is one of the signs of the end-time and Christ's return (Luke 18:8). Prayer is so vital because it is the practice offaith. Jesus promises. Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it; if you ask anything in my name, I will do it" (John 14-13-14).

No wonder Hallesby said, "No one is so poor as the unbeliever for whose salvation no Christian prays every day." Even in the war of abortion this holds true. Former abortionists Carol Everett and Beverly

McMillan report that when there was even one Christian outside their clinics praying, they would feel it inside j without looking. There was a conviction, a "light".

You are the light – present tense, indicative – for better or worse. We are the light of God's love in a dark and dying world, whether we like it or not, whether we're thinking about it ornot, whether we're doing a good job or a bad one. We are the only light the world has!

Jesus promises His followers will shine – unless they hide their light! His rule is,"Show it when tempted to hide it (Matthew5:16); and "Hide it when tempted to show it" (Matthew 6:1).

Where shall we begin? Jesus was asked a similar question oneday. He said, "Start with your neighbor" (Luke 10:29-37). Like Christy, the young missionary teacher in Cutler Gap, TN. in the early 1900s. Her neighbor was Ruby Mae, the poorest, smelliest and most obnoxious tomboy in all the Smokey Mountains. Her hardest step was the first: giving Ruby Mae abath. After than, she began to love her.

Or Elizabeth Holland, a pediatrician in Memphis. She has had to deal with hundreds of cases of severe physical and sexual child abuse. After repeatedly finding pornography behind sexual abuse, she has taken a leading role to outlaw pornography. When faced with apathy and despair among Christians, Dr. Holland exhorts them to wake up to their responsibility,citingIIChronicles7andH7,ekiel 3. "God commands us to do what is possible," she says. "He takes care of die impossible.!"

In the McNeil LehrerNews Hour June 12th, Vice President Quayle was featured for his view that at the root of the Los Angeles riots is the loss of traditional family values. By risking die ridicule of the media elite, he brought the topic offatherlessness into the middle of the public debate. By taking the heat, he was able to shed a lot of light.

Fatherlessness – isn't that really what it's all about? Socially, economically, spiritually? This feeling of being lost in our own world? "Homesick at home," as Chesterton said. One of the most pathetic stories to come out of the Los Angeles riots was that of the young engineering studer and fire safety specialist who ended up on thecover of Newsweek. "I got swept up in it and dicre was nothing you could do about it," said Craig-Monrovia, who voiced no regrets. "I just fell like I don't have a soul," he said. "You felt not human, like your life didn't mean anything".

There is another story which came out of the same riots. The first story describes a fatherless son; this second one reveals a son of the Father. As the riots began, the Rev. Benny Newton, a black minister living nearby, saw the violence erupt on TV. A construction worker, Fidel Lopez, was yanked from his truck, kicked, beaten, stripped and sprayed with paint."

By the time Newton had run to die scene, Lopez was unconscious. Throwing himself over the bleeding body, Newton yelled, "If you kill him, you'll have to kill me, too." The minister said he "cried out in prayer" for five minutes. Lopez started to breathe, and his eyes rolled back. Newton said, "It was miraculous. Ireallyfeell'veseenadeadman come back to life."

Yes, there is plenty of darkness. But the darker the night, the brighter the light. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heavenjyou are the light of the world!"

* Dr. Lund is president of American Lutheran Theological Seminary, St. Paul,MN. Reprinted by permission of Evangel, Sept. 1992.