There are times in our lives when it can be discouraging being a Christian. Jesus said in Mark 13:13 “Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Why do people hate Christians? True Christians shine their light into a world full of darkness and there are many who don’t like their life exposed to the light. John 3:20 says “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.”
In Matthew 5:16 Jesus tells us to “Let your light shine for all to see …” As believers we have the light of the gospel shining out from our lives! Not everyone welcomes that light, but we need to let our light shine anyway! People who have lived in darkness all of their lives and have not been exposed to it, won’t necessarily welcome it. Light is uncompromising, it shines whether people want it to or not!
God makes no apology for who He is. He is the light that shines into the darkness. John 1:5 tells us “And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” Those who live in darkness, don’t necessarily understand it. As a ministry we have preached, debated and discussed the Gospel with thousands of people over the years and found that you can try and reason with a person, but sometimes the best thing to do is just let the light of the Gospel shine into their life anyway!
You can argue back and forth with a person, they may even hate you. I have been threatened with physical violence even death threats over the years because of the efforts we have made to preach the Gospel, but all this does is make us more determined to let the light of the Gospel continue to shine through us anyway! Many times people hate the light, they feel conviction of their sin. The light is shining into uncomfortable areas of their life! It’s not you they hate, its the piercing light of the Gospel they hate.
Before my father was saved, he had a Christian workmate at the butcher shop they worked at who used to share the love of Jesus with him. My father got so angry and convicted of sin one day he threw a knife at him, fortunately it missed. I’m telling you, people don’t always appreciate their life of sin and darkness being exposed to the light. It was shortly after that my father had a glorious conversion experience, waves of God’s forgiveness and healing washed over him as he repented of his may sins. He was a changed man from that time on, every addiction and dark chain over his life was broken.
Today maybe you are experiencing the discouragement of letting your light shine into the lives of others. Remember today, the reactions you are getting are people reacting to the light shining from your life. Today I want to encourage you, let your light shine anyway!
