Mankind has a tendency to love darkness and hate light. It’s sort of the natural state that we are born into.

Darkness is our kingdom, and Satan is our spiritual king in the dark.. by default.

Darkness is one of the things that satan offers us. Spiritual Darkness offers us the ability to hide from Jesus, like how Adam and Eve hid from God.

When we are comfortable in our depressing cell of darkness. Sometimes even seeing a glimpse of light and reality leaking in angers us because we strongly prefer the dark. It hurts the eyes. In the dark we think we have control. In the dark we personally are not exposed and don’t have to be accountable to God …or sometimes even accountable to basic common sense.

Clarifications About Spiritual Light vs Religious Rags

There is a big difference between Spiritual light and the false light of religious works.

Spiritual Light is not some idea of ministry (where we begin to fake love for others using flattery and feigned kindness) speaking to people like we are walking commercials, promising that wishes will come true and common life-problems solved. If people will just start following us.

All the while hiding our ulterior motives of filling buildings with personal followers. Or of getting promoted in our chosen religious organization.

The light is where we must accept Jesus in control and not ourselves, we lose the ability to control our situations. We can’t engineer outcomes anymore while in the light. Because that is where Jesus is controlling situations and engineering outcomes and suddenly all we can do is help him and cooperate in his work.

In the light we can’t hide our motives behind things like sin or perpetual victimhood. The light is exacting and demanding. Light can be super offensive and frustrating and painful if we love darkness.

But the Jesus follower first willingly steps away from the darkness that they so love, to go into the light. This makes repentance a necessary and regular practice.

But then the Christian is taken even further and is asked to become a source of spiritual light into Satan’s domain of darkness. And so is asked to do things that will absolutely get them in trouble with the crowd that prefers darkness. So much trouble that it may even get them killed. They are asked to do this so that some might be drawn to the light.

“Let your light shine” is not intended to be a teaching for children, not a trite Sunday school lesson that the adults got bored with so it’s taught to kids as a cute little bible thing (to ignore). It also is not intended to be church growth marketing strategy.

It is a sober invitation from God to Jesus-followers who already love the light and are willing to obey, are even willing to invade Satan’s domain, and to do this even at the prospect of persecution and death.