Hidden No Longer

Where is The Hidden You?

Matthew 5;14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Are you a light hidden away somewhere? It may be that you are a little shy? Or maybe a little scared of the consequences of stepping into any kind of limelight? The news is full of stories of those who show any sign of Christianity at work being jumped upon, chastised, or even fired – even for wearing a cross on a chain round their neck. That’s here in the UK. In many places around the world it is far worse than that.

So, for the sake of argument, let us say we are somewhere in the “free world” where your rights to hold and practice your faith are still legal. We live in a society that likes to “out” people, meaning that society claims it doesn’t mind what your views are, just so long as everybody knows them. If you are gay, you are gay and nobody minds. If you are a drug or porn addict, everyone knows it and accepts it. If you are an atheist, everybody seems to applaud your honesty. If you are a non-Christian, everyone respects your right to the religion of your choice, or even none at all.

In this present society, if you are a Christian and keep quiet about it, then it’s OK. However, if you are a Christian, and you show it, then you are a pariah, a curse, and a blight upon humanity. You are regarded as perhaps a possible terrorist, even an anarchist, and one to be eschewed by society in general. Hmmm – not so good after all, is it?

Yet it is in the face of all this that God is calling you today. His call is unlike any other. It is compelling. It is passionate. It is a call like no other. He is calling you to “out” yourself; to set your light for others to see; to have you practice a little more of that which you preach. He is seeking those who will allow themselves to look foolish for Him; those who will buck the trend of current thinking and be His disciples in a very modern world. He is looking for the ‘foolish’ in order to confound the ‘wise’. In short, He is looking for those who will ‘make themselves fools for Christ’s sake’.

He is looking for the “hidden you”. It’s there somewhere, hiding behind something or someone. “More than conquerors”, isn’t that what Paul called us? More than conquerors for the Gospel of Christ. More than conquerors putting our light out for the world to see.

Hidden no longer.