Basket Case or Beacon
Matthew 5:15 says, “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.”
So, are you a basket case or a beacon in your home?
Just because a lamp or candle is put under a basket, does that mean the lamp went away? NO! Sometimes as Christians we put our light under a basket. Sometimes we weave the basket around ourselves for any number of reasons. Sometimes we weave a basket around us because we are living in unrepented sin. Sometimes we weave the basket one round at a time because we are trying to protect ourselves. Regardless of the reason, our lamp is being hidden under a basket.
God did not create you, did not send the Holy Spirit to you to be hidden. In this verse the light is to be put on the lampstand and give light to all who are in the house. Who comes into your home? Who needs to see light? Who will not appreciate the fact that you are shining God’s light? Because let’s be honest, not everyone wants the light of Christ. The light exposes things that were once hidden in the dark. There’s usually a reason why someone hides something. They don’t want it to be seen.
The reason we should shine the light is so God will be glorified…not us.
I recently read a book written by Francis Chan titled The Forgotten God. It’s a wonderful book about the Holy Spirit. In John 14:16-18 Jesus tells the disciples that the Father will be giving them a Helper, the Spirit of truth. Their current Helper was Jesus Christ who was living with them, but the Father was going to send a different Helper, the Holy Spirit, who would live in them. In the book The Forgotten Book, Francis Chan poses a question I would like to pose to you. The question is this:
If you could choose to have the Spirit in you or Jesus beside you,
which One would you choose?
Jesus says there is another Helper that is like Him, God. “Another” in this instance mean another one of the same, not another but different. The Helper was another of the same as Jesus. The Spirit is God. Jesus says it is better that the Holy Spirit comes. Why do you think that is?
Personally, there have been times when Jesus would be physically present with me. I wanted to hear His audible voice with clear directions of how to proceed with my life. I would have chosen Jesus hands down.
So, why does Jesus say the Holy Spirit is what we need? In order for us to operate in our spiritual gifts and to have the fruit of the Spirit to the supernatural limits, the Holy Spirit HAS to be IN us. When the Spirit leads me to act in my giftedness delivering messages, encouraging, discerning, and prophesying, it is truly amazing what He does. I can only do that if He is in me, moving me, guiding me to act and do and say according to His will.
I want you to think about the disciples for a minute. When Jesus was with them, they made mistakes. They were clueless some of the time. Francis Chan wrote, “Do you want to see a life that was able to experience both Jesus in life and the Spirit in his body? Look at the life of Peter. When he was Jesus, he was clumsy. He put his foot in his mouth. He was impetuous. But empowered by the Spirit, WOW! He preached sermons that drew thousands and many were saved. With the Spirit, he healed and cast out spirits. With the Spirit, he escaped prison.”
When we get done with this Bible study, I will be doing a comparative study because I want to see in detail how the Spirit affected Peter’s life, how his life changed when Jesus entered it and how his life changed when the Spirit entered it.
But to be light, you have to know the Light. It’s a relationship. Relationships take time to develop. How much time are spending in your quiet time and Bible study each week? How often are your praying? Do you talk to the Spirit at all? Are you listening for the Spirit?
The Spirit IS God. 1Kings 19:11-12, we read God’s voice wasn’t in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire, but in the soft whisper. Isaiah 30:21 tells us whether we turn right or left, our ears will hear a voice behind us telling us, “This is the way, walk in it.” The question is are you listening?