Matthew 5:14 – You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. (NIV)

When I was in the navy, one of my watch stations was to search for ships on the horizon. On a clear and calm day, this was a difficult task, because the reflection of the sun off the water made it very difficult to see. The same problem occurs when the sun reflects off snow. We usually call this snow blindness, because our vision is impaired by the intensity of the reflection. In both cases, neither the sea nor the snow is a light source. They are merely materials which reflect light.

In today's Matthew passage, Jesus tells us that we are the light of the world, but we are also told in John 1:9 that Jesus is "the true light that gives light to every man" (NIV). We are not innately the light of the world because we are sinners. All we can do, because of the washing away of our sins by Jesus' sacrifice, is to reflect the true light in this world. The reflection of this light should be so strong that others around us can do nothing else but notice it.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we pray that You would help us and guide us so that we may be blazing reflections of Your light in this world. Amen.

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