Turn on the Power Switch!

“No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore, take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.” Luke 11:33-36 NKJV

I have been meditating on this portion of scripture quite a bit over the last couple of months. It means so very much, that I have struggled as to how I wish to write about it. I decided, after a lot of prayer and consideration, that what was holding me back, was the idea that I had to be able to speak to it comprehensively all in one single blog post.

The enemy is so very sneaky.

Then, the Holy Spirit reminded me of something very important: that the Word of God and all of its truth and applications and teachings can never be exhausted. It continues to take on deeper meaning to us as we return to it again and again. And we should never try to hold anything back simply because of some mere human limitation.

Ironically, that is exactly what these verses are about: the fact that we shouldn’t hold back when it comes to the light of Jesus and His power that He has placed within us.

Not at all.

In these verses, we see that we are not to hide, try to diminish, or keep to ourselves the light of Jesus that is within us. The light of Christ and the way that He fills us and all that He does within us is not meant to be a secret. We are not to selfishly hoard Him all to ourselves. We should revel in the fact that He has fully illuminated our lives, our hearts, and our souls and minds, and allow Him to shine from the inside out – inviting all the world to see so as to experience Him, His love, and His glory to the fullest.

Furthermore, when one puts a light, such as a candle, in or under a basket, what happens? The light eventually goes out. This is not to say that Jesus can ever be squashed because He has no power. After all, He is God. But just as we have a choice as to whether or not we accept Him as our Lord and Savior, we also choose whether or not we are going to share Him with others.

Next, I was thinking a lot about the fact that the “eye” is indicative of our inner spirit. Is it truth, or is it not? See, truth is not just partly truth…it is whole. But there are many “true” things, even “good” things in this world that we can fill ourselves with that aren’t going to FILL us with light. Those things may help us to be “better people”, but they aren’t going to fill us from the inside out with the light of Jesus – the kind of light that is utterly divine – the kind that leaves not one shred or crevice or splinter of darkness to be found.

Jesus is the whole truth. Jesus is the whole light.

He is truth. He is light.

Eventually, one way or another, partial truth, since it leaves room for tiny specks of dark to remain behind, left uncovered, ends up meaning we are still not filled with light in full. It means some darkness actually still remains. False light leads then to eventual darkness. It leads to spiritual blindness. And complete ineffectiveness.

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“Having no part dark.” NO PART. This entails truly seeking only Jesus Christ as our source of light. He is light. He is truth. He is love. He is ALL.

Have we embraced all of the truth, all of the light, all of the love – all of Jesus? Have we asked Him to fill us with Himself – absolutely and fully? Have we asked Him to dispel every single piece of darkness within us? Do we continue to go to Him every single day to take out any dark that has tried to infiltrate, fake us out, seep in and taint or hold back that power in Him which is there – wanting to pour out of us?

And if so, are we trying in any way to hold back the light that is so powerful, that if we just stop messing with it, trying to be non-intrusive, socially acceptable, or whatever else to conform, do we ever ask Him to help us to stop doing that? We can do that, you know: ask for His supernatural help and power to overcome our tendency to hoard or hide.

We can do that.

If Jesus lives within us, friends, we are full of His power. He wants to use us to shine throughout the world for His glory, and to bring others into the light that He is, and ultimately, to salvation and eternal life with Him. We are to share Him in full, not partially. And we can do so in ways that are extraordinary…because Jesus Christ is most definitely not ordinary!

This is done by turning on the floodlights from the inside out and never holding back when it comes to grace and love.  This is done by Him and through Him and because of Him.

I know power can seem scary, for we are mere human beings. But we need not fear. We need not hold back. God is big enough to handle it. We aren’t going to explode if we let that light pour out of us. People get freaked out if we dump a lot of doctrine on them all at once, but not so when it comes to light, love, and things like grace and compassion. This is why those things are to be our primary focus. God will take care of the rest in His perfect timing.  But we should never withhold love and grace.

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We just have to remember to stop trying to mess with the power switch. We have to remember to get rid of the fake light sources or hiding the very real, and very true ones that He has provided to us and just leave that power switch on all the time. Then He will flow. Then He will pour out. Then He will do those extraordinary and awesome things.

Turn on the power switch, friends. Join me in the endeavor to stop making apologies for being too bright in this world for Jesus Christ.

And remember: Jesus Christ doesn’t ever burn out!

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