Jesus told Christians: “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” Let us then occupy ourselves in calling attention to the light, not the darkness. People around us are well aware of the darkness, we don’t have to call attention to it, magnify it, or curse it.

Let’s BE the light. It’s all very well to talk about the light, we need to do that, but what good does the talk do if people can’t see the light in us? Jesus did noy just tell us to live righteous, moral and self-denied lives. He told us to love everyone, even our enemies; to bear affliction joyously; to forgive those who do us wrong; to be moved with compassion and help the weak, the wounded, the brokenhearted.

When we go to a community or a country with a culture that is foreign to us, we should look for signs of light in their culture and build upon that. When Paul was called to defend himself before the judges on Mars Hill, he did not start by talking about Jesus. In fact , he never mentioned Jesus by name at all. Neither did he waste time berating them for their paganism. He quoted from their poets and philosophers, choosing the ideals in their thoughts that pointed to the God they did not know. It was a difficult group of listeners, highly educated men, philosophers. They found no grounds to condemn him, one of their group became a believer.

We may never encounter a group quite like that, yet Paul’s example is one to consider. Jesus is the answer to all the needs of all mankind. But how will they know that if we don’t know how Jesus is the answer to their particular needs and longings? Every group of people has certain ideals inherent in their culture and a longing to experience the fulfillment of those ideals. A little time spent learning the culture, not just the language, can make the gospel message much more effective.

Take France as an example. The ideals that led to the Revolution were Liberty, Equality and Brotherhood. Very noble ideals. We don’t need to point out that that much is lacking in the working out of those ideals. Has our country really done any better? Napoleon built on those ideals; he put an end to the Inquisition that had tormented Europe for six centuries; he made it possible for Jews and other religious minorities to live and build places of worship anywhere in France; he established a legal system that made everyone equal before the law and not subject to the whims of kings and governors. These ideals are built into the collective conscience of the French people, but they can only be fully realized by the saving grace of Jesus Christ. That is the story we must tell.

Every human being is created in the image of God and has a deep longing for the light. May we be the embodiment of the Light.