Bringers of light

Many are asking, “Who can show us anything good?” Let the light of your face shine on us, Lord. Psalm 4:6

There are times when a single, simple Bible verse seems to connect with particular relevance with one’s own situation. That happened to me the other day as I was reading Psalm 4. The psalmist echoes the mood he senses around him, a mood of puzzlement, even of hopelessness or despair: “Many are asking, ‘Who can show us anything good?’”

Who indeed? The implied answer is “no-one”.

Our news seems to get more troubling every day, with historians and politicians seriously wondering if we could be heading for another world war. The world-wide economy has been thrown into chaos by America’s tariffs policy, and seriously right-wing, anti-democratic forces that worship such idols as money, power or sex seem to be coming to the fore and claiming authority.

You chat with neighbours and friends, and after (of course!) a brief cheery discussion of the recent sunny weather, it’s difficult not to slip into “What’s the world coming to?” misery-mode.

Our world is very different from the one the psalmist lived in, but the mood is similar: putting it simply, there’s a lot of gloom about. For the palmist, traditionally identified as King David, the crisis has a very personal feel, but in many other parts of the Bible it is more national and even international: the prophet Isaiah, for example, speaks dramatically of a trembling of the earth’s very foundations (Isaiah 24:17-23). What is the world coming to?

As Christians, of course, we have a solid hope. Jesus is crucified and risen, and assures us of a perfect future beyond death (John 14:1-4). During his earthly life he warned that there would be “wars and rumours of wars”, not to mention “famines and earthquakes” (Matthew 24:1-8) and many other kinds of evil.

But most people, sadly, don’t share this hope, either because we Christians have never told them or because they have heard but failed to respond. If we chat with a troubled friend or neighbour we may feel it appropriate to refer to our personal faith and the difference it makes, but we (rightly, I think) hesitate to risk causing them embarrassment, possibly putting them off altogether, by putting them on the spot. (The apostle Peter advises his readers to respect unbelievers by waiting for them to make the first move (1 Peter 3:15).)

So what are we to do? How can we ensure that our unbelieving contacts “see some good” in the midst of the gloom?

The best answer, short of a clear and straightforward presentation of the gospel, is simple but also very challenging: by being a certain kind of person. If we go on to ask, “All right, but what kind of person?” there are various time-honoured words that spring to mind: “holy”, “godly”, “Spirit-filled” will do for starters. True, they have a slightly old-fashioned feel to them, but most non-Christians will have a sense of their very positive meaning, even if a bit of “unpacking” may be needed. (Some people might also suggest “religious” or “righteous”, but I imagine that most Christians prefer to avoid such labels because they have so many negative connotations, suggesting self-righteousness or sanctimony.)

At the end of the day I’m not sure one could do better than “Christlike”, for, after all, what is Christian living about if not, in essence, just becoming more and more like Jesus? And though not many people seem to have an active faith in him, I suspect that he is still viewed with respect, if nor more, by many non-believers.

This is where the second line of Psalm 4:6 helps: the psalmist prays, “Let the light of your face shine upon us, O Lord!”

That might seem a rather selfish prayer – God’s people praying for themselves. But it doesn’t have to be taken that way, for just as the moon has no light of its own, but only what it reflects from the sun, so we who seek to follow Jesus, though we have no light of our own, have the privilege of reflecting him who is the light of the world. Isn’t this why he both claimed to be, himself, the light of the world (John 8:12), and also described his disciples in exactly the same way (Matthew 5:14)?

One of the things this means is that, though we may find it hard to believe, people will see something of the light of Jesus in us even though it may not be appropriate to speak of him by name. How many people have been converted, in essence, by getting to know somebody in their workplace who made a deep impression on them? “They never spoke about their faith,” they say, “but… well, there was just something about the way they were that struck me…”. How many times have words like that been spoken as they tell their story?

Let’s pause to digest what this great truth means: As I go about my daily business - in my workplace, or doing the shopping, or looking after the children, or cutting the grass, or just moving around the neighbourhood -  people may see Jesus in me. Yes, really! People look at you, and see Jesus, though they may not realise it. Christian, while you shake your head in disbelief, let this truth encourage you!

I picked out a few words earlier that sum up the Christian’s character as it is being recreated by the Holy Spirit. Then I happened to find myself reading the final section of Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi, where Paul winds up his letter with another list of words to both challenge and inspire us; but I’ve run out of space, so I’ll come back to it next time…

Let’s finish today where I started, in Psalm 4… Yes, in our day as well as in the psalmist’s, there are many who despairingly say ‘O that we might see some good!’ Let’s grasp the fact that if indeed they are to see some good it’s likely to be in you and me. What a privilege!

Lord, I have no natural light of my own, but by your grace and by the work of the Holy Spirit, even I can be a bringer of light to pierce the gloom which seems to be all around in our troubled world. Thank you, Father! Amen.