Let There Be Light

“For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” Acts 13:47

Make no mistake about it…Christians are sent. Jesus prayed to His Father in John 17:18, “As You sent Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” As Christ followers, we are on a redemptive mission…a mission to bring salvation to the ends of the earth. Our sending is so significant, in fact, that Jesus says receiving His “sent ones” is the same as receiving Jesus Himself. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives Me…”(John 13:20).

This truth should be awe-inspiring to us. Whether our own particular sending includes a geographical change, a cultural change, or merely Jesus-centered living right where we are does not matter. Each of us is equally “sent.” The church planter in a far-off land is no more sent than the elementary school teacher or the construction worker. The full-time, mega-church pastor is no more sent than the stay-at-home mom of small children. Sent means sent. And all believers are on a mission to be a light for unbelievers…to take the Gospel to the end of the cul-de-sac and all the way to the ends of the earth.

We are sent as representatives of Christ…His ambassadors, as 2 Corinthians 5:20 calls us. We are sent to both proclaim and show that Jesus was sent into the world by the Father to save sinners. We are delegates…unworthy recipients of unimaginable grace and unfathomable love. We have been released into the dark world with the very words of life…truth that shines God’s light into the darkest of places, and the hardest of hearts.

The first ever-recorded words of God were, “Let there be light.” Is it a coincidence that our message is the same? We are both recipients and carriers of the light of God. Our mission is clear. We have been saved so that we may be sent. And we have been sent so that many will hear and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ. May our lives continually echo those first words of God: Let there be light!

God, thank You for saving me so that You could send me into the world with the message of Jesus. There is no higher calling and no greater purpose in my life than being a light to those who so desperately need to know You. Forgive me for the times that I forget my true calling as Your disciple. Renew my passion to take Your salvation to the ends of the earth. In Jesus’ name, amen.