Joy in Shining Bright | Philippians 2:12-18
Have you ever thought about the power of light? Darkness never wins against it. Walk into a dark room and flip the switch; the darkness doesn’t argue or resist, it just disappears. Even the smallest light changes everything. Think about when you wake up in the middle of the night to let nature run it’s course. It’s pitch black, you can’t see a thing. But then you grab your phone, turn on the flashlight, and suddenly the path is clear. One little light can cut through the darkness. Here’s the deal: that’s what we are supposed to be as a Christian. We don’t have to be the biggest or the brightest light to make a different, we just need to shine the light of Jesus in this dark world. Darkness cannot overcome the light; it never has and never will. Light is undefeated against the darkness. The darker the night gets, the brighter even one light will shine. The only way that darkness can have an advantage is if the light refuses to shine. As kids we used to sing: This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
That is exactly what Paul is teaching us as he is writing from a dark prison in Rome awaiting the final verdict from Caesar. It is around 62 AD. Times were very dark in the Roman Empire at this time. Caesar Nero was crazy. There was moral insanity, political uncertainty, harsh persecution against Christianity, and financial instability. Sounds a little bit like America 2025. But what does Paul tell us to do in the middle of all the darkness? Not hide our light but shine our lights. In Philippians 2:12-18, Paul teaches us how to shine bright in a dark world by working out, shutting up and pouring out.