Philippians 2:15 - "Shining as Lights in a Dark World"

"Thatyou may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in themidst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights inthe world."  Whata description of the world in which we live today—a crooked and perversegeneration. The word crooked means twisted or bent away from God's standard.The word perverse means distorted or corrupted. Does that not describe ourworld today? Truth is being redefined. Morality is being distorted. Darkness iscelebrated while righteousness is mocked. We see it on every hand, all aroundus, throughout our world, and especially in our country, the USA. Yet God hascalled us not to hide from the world. He has called us to shine in it. Rememberin Matthew 5:14, Jesus said, "You are the light of the world."In verse 16, He said, "Let your light so shine before men, that theymay see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Light doesnot complain about the darkness. It does not fight with the darkness. Myfriend, all it has to do is shine, and the darkness flees. Iam convinced with all my heart that if Christians truly let the light of JesusChrist shine—remember, He said, "I am the light of the world." NowHe lives in us. His light shines through us. It is not our light; it is Hislight, and it shines through us. If we would only let it shine, the darknesswould be pushed back. It would flee. You do not go into a room and curse thedarkness when it is dark. No, you simply turn on the light switch. As soon asthe light comes on, everything becomes plain and clear, and you can see acrossthe room. That is what we do as believers. Our light shines. Paulsays believers are to be blameless and harmless. This does not mean sinlessperfection, but lives marked by integrity and purity. The world should not seehypocrisy in our lives. Our lives should support the message that we preach. Oneof the greatest tragedies is when Christians damage their testimony throughbitterness, compromise, anger, or constant negativity. We just talked aboutthat in verse 14. Yousee, the darker the world becomes, the brighter faithful believers will shine. Thinkabout Daniel in Babylon, along with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Thinkabout Joseph in Egypt and the difference he made. Or even Noah before theflood. They lived in corrupt cultures, yet their lives stood out. The ApostlePaul and the early believers lived in a Roman culture that was dark, corrupt,and cruel. But, my friend, the light was shining. As it shone through theirlives, wonderful things took place that turned the world upside down. Yousee, God never intended for His people to blend into the darkness. Yet thatseems to be what so many churches and believers are trying to do today. Youcannot tell the difference between a believer and the world around them. NoticePaul says we shine in the midst of a crooked generation. We are in the world,but we are not of the world. That is why Jesus prayed in John 17 that theFather would not take believers out of the world, but that He would keep themfrom the evil one. Sohow do we shine in a practical way? We shine through holy living. We shinethrough kindness. We shine through truth. We shine through love. We shinethrough joy in suffering. We shine through forgiveness. We shine throughfaithfulness. A Christian filled with the HolySpirit of God becomes a lighthouse in a dark culture. Peoplearound us desperately need hope. They are confused, fearful, and empty. Manyhave never seen genuine Christianity lived out consistently.  Itrust God will use you and me to make a difference in the world in which welive, because someone is watching how we handle stress, disappointment,conflict, and suffering. Are you shining clearly today? Or are you blendinginto the darkness? Ask God to make your light shine as a bright testimony forJesus Christ. Remember this: the darker the night, the more visible the light.