Tuesday, July 31, 2012

July 31, 2012

Don't Hide Your Light


Today’s “Verse of the Day,” sent to my e-mailbox, was Matthew 5:14-16: “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” I thought of that verse as I looked back over my vacation photos from my Protestant pilgrimage to Florida. I saw beautiful vistas of the Matanzas Inlet near St. Augustine, where those 245 French Protestants were martyred for their faith. And I realized that that is what they did . . . they did not try to hide their light.

When they were on their knees with their hands bound behind their backs, they could have begged and pleaded and cried. They could have agreed to convert to save their own lives. They could have taken the easy way out and showed their enemies a mass of hopeless, faithless individuals. But they did not. They stood together as one body and boldly sang the words of Psalm 132. They remained strong in the face of adversity, and they showed their enemies the true calm confidence of a Christian spirit.

It is unknown, of course, if any of the Spanish conquerors were moved to pity by this display of resignation and praise, but the Lord Himself certainly knew of the Huguenots’ courage. They did not hide their light. They proved their strength, their endurance, and their unshakable faith. They let their light shine before others, and though it could not save their lives, it paved the way for their eternal life to come. 

Just a few verses before Matthew 5:14-16 is Matthew 5:10-12: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.’ Somewhere in an isolated inlet fourteen miles from the Nation’s Oldest City lie over two hundred men who understood these verses very well.


(c) 2012 Joyously Saved

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