Let Your Light Shine
by Katie Harding on May 19, 2025
Do others see Jesus in you? Have you ever wondered how effectively you show Jesus to others? It can be easy on Sundays when we’re at church and everyone is on their best behavior. But what about on Mondays, Tuesdays, or other days when we encounter difficult circumstances and unending challenges? Does our anger get the best of us, or do we seek distractions, trying to avoid the conflict rising up within?
Having the life of Christ in us is not the same as Christ being seen through us. Paul said, we are “…always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our bodies.” Some people think once we accept Jesus as our Savior, our work is done. We have made the ultimate decision, so we are saved and will one day go to heaven. That’s it. That’s all we have to do. It’s similar to purchasing a life insurance policy with a payout at the end. We receive Jesus through our profession of faith, and one day, when our bodies fail, we will reap the rewards.
However, in my favorite devotional, My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, he says, “We have to form habits to express what God’s grace has done in us.” Accepting Christ is not a matter of being saved from hell but of being saved “in order to manifest [show] the life of the Son of God in our mortal flesh…”
So, what does this mean, and how do we do it?
In 2 Corinthians 4:10, when Paul wrote he is “…always carrying in the body the death of Jesus…,” it means he was always asking, “What must I die to for others to see Jesus through me?” To help us apply Paul’s question personally, I have come up with four possible areas to reflect on:
Our attitudes. Do we need to die to feelings like self-righteousness, selfishness, or pride?
Our addictions. Do we need to die to cravings for those things like the constant use of phones and streaming devices?
Our appetites. Do we need to die to desires for social media, videos, and being seen?
Our attention. Do we need to die to distractions like escapist behaviors and the lack of discipline?
What must you die to for others to see Jesus through you?
Paul said he was “always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Christ may be made visible.” How are you making Christ visible? What is it you have to die to today, so that Jesus may be seen more clearly in you tomorrow? May His Light not only shine brightly in you, but through you.