Revelation 1:12-20 / 2 Corinthians 4:7-11
The time has come to take down the Christmas decorations. The lights, I think, are the most work, yet are the most enjoyable things to see during the season. There is something special about Christmas lights and really, the more the merrier. One strand of light is never enough! There is just something magical and special about Christmas lights breaking through the darkness of winter’s night – the brighter, the better.
Last week in our current series on reflecting the vision of Christ, we talked about the importance of us being fully dependent on God for His light to shine through us. DEPENDENCY on God is vital to a successful Christian life. But no one lives in a vacuum and no one was created to live this life alone. The Barrel of Monkeys game would be really boring if there was only one and so would humanity. We need each other – our value focus today is DELIGHT in church family. As a string of lights shines brighter when paired, Christ is magnified best when we are unified! Each of us individually are lampstands, but we are together THE lampstand, as Jesus Himself described.
Everyone’s Light is Broken
Matthew 5 tells us that we are God’s display to this world. Yet, by turning on the news or scanning the headlines or even taking a walk out in your neighborhood, it is obvious that, at best hope, we are all broken. Sin, tragedy, and suffering are all around us. Wherever we look: the 20yr anniversary of the tsunami that hit and killed almost 300,000 people in SE Asia recently happened or the currently mounting death counts in Israel and Gaza, Russia, and Ukraine remind us all the time that our light strings are broken. This is the reality of the churches in the 1st section of Revelation. They all were broken in some way. Brokenness is all around us and in us. We cannot escape it, but we can let God use it. Paul’s message of hope through our brokenness speaks into the beauty of how God’s lights shines through our cracks.
Joni Eareckson Tada’s body was broken from a bad dive, but she has lived as a light-bearing quadriplegic for the last 57 years! She has used her situation as a testimony in front of countless people. When we are honest about our weaknesses and allow God to shine through them, we see the true glory of Him – His power being made perfect in our weakness! (2 Cor 12:9). Even in the midst of incredible brokenness, the church is God’s lamp to the dark world. We, together, as imperfect as we are, magnify Christ together!
Our Light Strands Work When Connected
Joni is but one strand of lights in a large bundle. A house isn’t complete without many strands daisy-chained together, and neither does the church reach its brightest without all of us. The church together is the lampstand. Many, when strung together, become so much brighter! Jesus, in the fullness of His power in John’s vision, declares that the lampstands are the churches. This is the fulfillment of the symbolism of the temple. In the Old Testament, the temple is a physical place of concrete and structure, but in the New, it is the hearts of His people. With Jeremiah’s prophecy that God will put His law on our hearts, (Jer. 31:33) the temple of God is no longer a physical place; it dwells inside a group of people – His church, His body. We are the temple and God’s radiance and light emanates from us – making us together the lampstand!
Just like a lightbulb, the higher the wattage or the more light bulbs there are, the brighter the room becomes. This is a collective mission, one that we cannot do without Him, but also one we can’t do without each other. We, together, are the lampstand. The church, with each of us and our weaknesses, complete the shining light! While we do each shine individually, we were built to shine together as one–Barrel of Monkeys!–a powerful team, working in Christ’s unity that the gates of hell can’t resist.
Next Steps
There is a key to making this work, though. A broken string of lights still needs fixed with a working power source. For us, that is Christ in us, the hope of glory (Col 1:27). As we discussed last week, without the power of the Holy Spirit, there is no light to shine. But with the Holy Spirit in us, our light is magnified together, pointing to the grace and glory of God!
- Share your authentic experiences with people – Christianity isn’t where all are “doing good, thanks” – it is where real people heal.
- Make a goal to engage with one family per month from your church family on a deeper level – be authentic with each other.
- Volunteer for an outreach activity, from the church if possible. Putting our hands to the plow together is the goal!
Imagine playing Barrel of Monkeys with only one monkey – not worth it. One strand of Christmas lights isn’t enough. We work much better as a unified group. Our light shines brightest together! We need to delight in each other – so go out, today, and delight. Engage in deeper relationships with your church family.
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