Are you an older brother or sister? Are you in some way a leader – be it a family, company or some other type of organization?
If you are, you’ve probably heard the admonishment to not
only be an example for others, but to be a “shining” example for others.
The word shining connotes the idea of being attractive or something to strive for: to be the “best” of whatever it is that you are exemplifying. That’s not easy. It’s not easy having to always be the “best”. What’s worse is that over time, some people actually disdain you. You get called names like a “goodie two shoes” or “teacher’s pet”. You know who you are. You may not have minded it, but let’s be frank, sometimes it was not fun; it was tiring. You felt like you were always under a microscope or that others were constantly holding a checklist up to your life.
When you had had enough, you wanted to break free of that mold and just be yourself. You wanted to be “fallible”; especially if this shining example were as a sibling. Not only were you keeping up appearances for mom and dad, but you had to deal with the brother or sister who wasn’t as shiny or squeaky clean as you. There was always this balance or tension that was a burden or yoke to bear.
As much as you may have “measured up” to mom and dad or the boss or the teacher (and then yourself, because this whole mess turns onto itself), you were constantly working; constantly striving. And sometimes feeling that you were constantly failing instead. It may not have been all bad, but… Thankfully as we mature, we can put these times of frustrating self-flagellation into better perspective.
So now what?
An attitude adjustment is one thing, but for what purpose? Yes, we are called to be imitators of Christ and to be in the reconciliation business like Christ; but there’s more. When we looked at the hows and whys of prayer we discussed that having a vibrant prayer life, having a good and regular communion with God would lead to a “shining” life that attracts and points people to Christ and not ourselves. Will we be singled out as examples? Yes, but it is with the purpose of redirecting them to our source or as the apostle Peter puts it, our reason for the hope that we have (1 Peter 3:15-16).
As we look at Philippians 2:12-18, we’re going to take a closer look at a “why” - the “why” that we imitate and reconcile.
"Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed — not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life — in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me."
We’ll go through the passage, but I really want to concentrate on that one word “shine” in verse 15.
Verse 12 is, in my opinion, kind of fun. Paul knows the old axiom that “when the cat’s away, the mice will play.” He reminds the Philippians that they are to work out their own salvation more so in his absence. Why? Think about it…
If you have someone continually supervising and directing you, it’s (whatever the task is) somewhat easy. But take away the supervision and direction and it’s suddenly all on you (me). And that’s the whole point of the Gospel message and God’s Plan of salvation: we are to be reconciled to God through the Cross of Christ as individuals. We come as we are; alone, in private, baring all. We don’t come on our parents background and coattails or grandma’s praying (although those may have been means to bring you to the Cross in the first place). We come to God alone. There is no "corporate" salvation.
That’s one of the facts that differentiates Christianity from every other religious system. Until we come to Christ seeking forgiveness of sin and our personal sinful nature, we are enemies of God. We have no fellowship with Him at all. We cannot merit anything without first being reconciled, and even then, if we’re only accepting Christ’s forgiveness for the purpose of eternal fire insurance, what’s the point? God sees right through that false piety (which in itself is sin).
The only thing that we’re “working out in fear and trembling” is our becoming Christlike. We (I or you) should be continually striving to look more like Jesus every hour of the day, every day of the week. But we remember that it is God working through us. God is the one that brings light to our lives. We are utterly and thoroughly incapable of bringing light into the world, let alone our own darkness (see Matthew 6:23 and Luke 11:34). Only God Himself is light - true light.
That being said, Jesus gives us the command to "let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16. It is absolutely necessary that we "shine" for God. He receives the glory He deserves, we receive the joy that He gives.
Ultimately what does light do? What does this "shining" provide for our own lives and the Kingdom of God? I would propose three object lessons: Personal transparency, the true darkness of the world around us being exposed, and that the centrality of the Cross in the Gospel is demonstrated.
God is at work in our lives to bring about His Kingdom and His righteousness; to bring about reconciliation of the sinfulness of mankind to a pure and holy God and Creator. Our new lives as believers in Jesus Christ is for the glory of God's plan and purposes, not ours. Our plans are rubbish (we'll talk about that in a couple of weeks). God's purposes are always good; ours are evil and almost always, self-serving. We are to "become blameless and pure" when contrasted to this "crooked and depraved" generation.
But that can only happen when we submit our individual lives and persons to the authority of Christ.
God's light and our shining first brings about personal transparency. Over the past several years, we've heard a lot about "transparency", but we rarely see it applied. Yes, it gets talked about. People want it. But do they really?
I don't know about you but the thought of being "transparent" makes me nervous. Actually, it scares me to death that someone, maybe all of you, may or will find out things about me that are utterly embarrassing. My sins, my shortcomings, are beyond the dirty rags of good works that I can boast about.
As I work out my salvation with fear and trembling, I get really nervous about what will be vomited out. The Holy Spirit wants to take a toilet bowl brush and get under the rim of my life. Sorry to be so graphic but that's what this is all about. God's light shining into my life will expose a lot of dirt, cobwebs and more that I would rather keep hidden in a closet, away from prying eyes.
But when I am transparent, when God's light shines into my personal darkness, that junk is exposed so that cleaning can be done. I can confess and repent. Furthermore, as I confess and repent and allow God's light to penetrate my life, my life is purified by the light. Light (particularly invisible ultraviolet light) is a great and natural "purifier" that oxidizes and destroys impurities.
God's light shining in and through us exposes the true darkness of the world around us. Let's face it, how many times have you heard that all people are "generally good"? That, my friends, is an absolute lie directly out of the pit of hell! Being a father and grandfather, I can tell you that I (or my wife) did not have to teach any of our children or grandchild how to sin. Sin was natural.
The Bible tells us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23) and that "we all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of has turned to his [or her] own way" (Isaiah 53:6). No one person in the world is "good - except God alone." (Mark 10:18).
What's worse - if that were possible - is that evil has become good and good evil. In fact, men and women "love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth." (Psalm 52:3). Today, as through all of history, men and women have always sought out their own pleasures and desires; our own wants. We are self-centered. Romans 1:18-25 is a glaring condemnation of our natural and sinful nature. And as we spiral down into our lusts, denying God and His righteousness in the process, we - and therefore society - become darker and darker.
Thankfully, just one point of light can do a tremendous amount of good in exposing this sin. That is our job as believers in Christ: to shine forth in a dark and dying world. Christians are supposed to be God's ambassadors in proclaiming His truth, not ours; His Word, not ours; His Light, not ours. We are to speak truth and life and light wherever we have been put. Regardless of home, school, workplace, vacation resort; even in the church.
Our light - actually His light shining through us - casts away darkness and death. Unwillingly, darkness and death flee, making as much noise and commotion as possible. We are mocked and ridiculed, but it is all for the eternal light and glory of God and His Kingdom. Depending on our individual and continuing response to Jesus, determines how brightly we shine.
And this light is something that distinguishes (or is supposed to) true Christians from everyone else. It's LOVE. Not the mushy love that people think they want, but God's love that includes justice, mercy, personal sacrifice. Here's how the apostle John put it:
"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 1 John 4:7-11.
Finally, our shining reflection of God's light in our lives points the unbeliever to the Cross. That's the bottom line. The light shining through us is not to highlight who we are and what we've done regardless of how "good" we may be or how "good" we may have done, this light is to be a beacon pointing directly to the Cross of Christ.
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:4-6, "The god of this age [satan] has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."
As Greg Gilbert writes in his great little book "What is the Gospel" (powerful reading), the Church is nothing more than an "outpost" of the Kingdom of God. God showcases who He is through us. That's an amazing thought to comprehend!
People want to hear good news. They want a gospel. We are to bring them THE Gospel. And God's Gospel is not that He is love and therefore cares for everyone (which is perfectly true). Nor is the Gospel our good works and helping our fellow man (the so called social gospel). The center piece of the True Gospel of God is the Cross, that cruel instrument of torment and death on which was crucified the sins of all mankind for all ages. And Jesus is the One who came to earth, condescended from Divinity to live a fully human life (although perfect and without sin) and consented to die a substitutionary death for you and me. Jesus bore your sins and my sins and removed them from the Father's sight when we placed our trust in that death by faith alone. Not our works or our "righteousness" but His atoning death and subsequent bodily resurrection which is a guarantee of our eternal life.
Only the Cross brings light... nothing else. Is there anything bigger or more relevant than the Cross? No; and that is not a rhetorical question. Only the Cross brings to us a righteousness that we don't deserve.
Jesus describes our lives as Christians in this way: we believers are like wheat growing among tears or weeds. Although saved, we live in a fallen and yes, dying world. Darkness is all around us. But God purposefully chooses not to tear out the weeds while we're growing. He will dispose of them in due time. Jesus explains His parable with these words:
"The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
"As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father." Matthew 13:37-43.
I don't know about you, but I would like to be shining example. But not for my own sake. I want to be a shining example of God's grace, mercy and love. That doesn't mean I turn a blind eye to sin. God calls me to shine my light (His light) on sin.
There's a lot of sin that needs to be exposed; in my life and yours - we are to be transparent and godly in what we say and do. There's also the sin of the society and world around us. You name it: pornography, abortion, ungodly sexuality, human trafficking, etc.
Thankfully, when some of that debris of sin is put aside by the light, the Cross becomes more visible. That's what we're truly after. Each of us needs to go to the Cross because that's the only place where we'll truly find the light of God.
One final thought before I close only because this has been troubling me, and I want you to really think about this and even try it: Darkness ALWAYS is defeated and pushed back by light. If you have a completely dark room, it only takes ONE candle or one dimly lit bulb to cast light into it. On the other hand, for Light to be defeated, it must purposely extinguish itself; it has to allow Darkness to overcome it. That's the battle and the choice each of us faces. Light wins just because of what it is, Light, or Darkness wins because Light has allowed itself to be snuffed out.
Click here to return to the study of Philippians.
Music video: David Crowder Band, "Shine"
