Autumn is the time when it is getting dark sooner, when it is getting cooler, when people move closer together. In the evening we have to switch on a light in order to see something, and many people don’t really want to go outside any more.
Jesus also tells us something about a light which we can switch on.

In the gospel of Luke, chapter 8, verses 16 – 17 Jesus speaks about how people behave when they lit up a light:

Nobody lights a lamp and then covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed. On the contrary he puts it on a lamp-stand so that those who come in may see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not become public, nothing under cover which will not be made known and brought into the open.

The first sentence is fully logical. Of course, we don’t put a burning lamp under the bed. That would be useless waste. The lamp would not be able fulfil it’s task that it is made for, which is lightening up a room.

The question that now arises is: Why did Jesus say this? What has been the purpose of these words?

People who read the Bible, know that Jesus often uses images or parables. This is one. The word "Light" we find very often in the New Testament. Jesus is called the "Light of the world". Those people that believe in Jesus shall be a light as well. That is precisely what this passage is all about. Being a light for other people, that is the central purpose of all Christians.

Faith is privacy – that we often hear. Yet Jesus says something completely different. Those that believe in Jesus shall very well pray in privacy and have a very personal relationship with Jesus. But they shall also be light, a light, that shows the way to those who do not yet know Jesus, so that they may find the way to Him.

To those people who already have a personal relationship to Jesus, I am putting this question: Do your neighbours know it? Do the people that you work with, your fellows at your sportive activities, and your personal friends know that you are a Christian? Jesus says that in the end we will not be able to keep anything as our private matter. Some day it will be brought into the open. Have the courage to tell your fellow citizens about Jesus. Jesus will help you to find the right words. He promised it to us. You need not throw yourself onto the others and insist on persuading them. But every now and then there will be opportunities. Don’t keep it as a secret that you are a Christian. Don’t put your lamp of faith nervously underneath your bed, yet trust in Jesus, stand firm publicly and proclaim that you believe in Him. Other people are interested in that. How else should they come to know more about Jesus?

To those people who do not yet know Jesus personally, I am putting this question: Could it be that among the people that you know there might be some that have a personal relationship with God? Why don’t you ask your colleague or your friend what he thinks of God? Don’t be scared about touching such a subject. Only when you ask, will you find out more about it.

Within short you will find a lot more about it here. As from December 1st, there will again be a Christmas Calendar here. But I don’t tell you more yet.