Why do some Christians hide their light?

“Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.” John 12:35

The light is Jesus Christ in you, and if you do not walk in the light then people cannot see Jesus in you. Some might ask, why must people see our light shining? The answer is threefold, (1.) your light is a gift from God, and it is not given to everyone, but God chose to give it to you. (2.) The light is Jesus Christ in you, He was born, lived, died, and rose again on the third day to give you this light. He suffered mightily for you that He could secure your ability to walk with God. (3.) walking in the light is the only possible way to walk in fellowship with God. “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”  1 John 1:6 – 7 Christians that are not walking in the light that Jesus gave, they are not in fellowship with God. And God said, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie…” We lie to ourselves, we lie to those around us, but more horrible, we lie to God. Let us look at John 8:12 “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” If a Christian is not walking in the light of God’s word, then they are not walking in Jesus Christ and if they are not walking in Jesus Christ then they are walking in darkness, and if they are walking in darkness then they are not walking with God. A Christian that walks in darkness or according to the course of this world brings no glory to God. Jesus said of our light, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” Matthew 5:14 There is nothing more beautiful than driving down the highway and seeing a hill with a beautiful light shining. Not just a light but a God given light, like a star or maybe the moon shining bright and lighting up everything around it. Back when God created the world God saw that all was void and dark, and then all at once God gave it light, "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness." Genesis 1:2 - 4 This light was the Shekinah Glory of God that lite-up the entire earth because the sun, moon, and stars had not been yet created. The Shekinah Glory of God is a visible manifestation of God on earth, He caused to dwell, referring to the divine presence of God. This is the glory every believer has inside of them, the eternal light of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 Why do Christians hide their light and “put it under a bushel” where it is hidden and useless to the glory of God? Jesus Christ saved us from the darkness of this world, why would any believer desire to go back into the darkness of Satan is beyond any imaginable thought. "No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light. The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness." Luke 11:33 - 35

Be careful who you allow to influence you.

1 Thessalonians 4:1 “Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.” Acts 5:29 “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.” Galatians 1:10 “For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”

Sometimes Christian can become followers of man more than God. We must always remember that no man, no not one is not without biblical error. We must allow these men to preach to us, love them, respect them, and learn from them, but always to remember no man is without biblical error. I have had one Pastor in my life, he was a great man, teacher, and man of truth in the Lord, but I found we disagreed on a few things. We are children of God and God ordered us to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 Because it is God who we follow and not man. This is why as a Pastor and a Minister I sometimes say “I do not care what man thinks of me” because I do not. God did not save me to please men, churches, or anyone else, God saved me to follow and to seek to please only Him. Just because a person has a difference of thought or opinion as to what the scripture concludes is not something I can allow to affect me. If God wanted us all to be perfectly aligned with the scriptures, we would all be just that. We all differ because God has made us all different according to His will. This is why God told us to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God” so that you as a Christian can “rightly dividing the word of truth.” Never allow any person, me included to influence you to disagree with what you see in the bible. We must all follow the word of God as the Holy Spirit shows us. If we did not disagree then we would be perfectly aligned with the bible and we are not. Show me a man that is in perfect alignment with the bible, and I will show you a person in error. Pastors study hard, sometimes many hours to preach one single sermon just so we can get all the scriptural proof for truth. However, if God has not shown us the absolute truth, we do not know the truth. Now, biblical disagreement does not mean there is not good fellowship. If we understand that no man, it perfect in biblical truth then we understand that we differ. And in understanding this we grow a tolerance level. We began to understand that we differ because the Holy Spirit doesn’t teach us the same and therefore it could be one is right and the other wrong, but which is which? We will all stand before Jesus Christ is judgment and we are all responsible to Jesus for what we believe. But Jesus will also judge us on how we treated other Christians that differ. We are to love one another just as God loves us all. If we mistreat another believer because we differ on the scriptures, then we become the sinner. And the same is true if we refuse to see the truth because someone close to us disagrees. If we disagree then we talk about it, we study it together, and we reach the conclusion that God causes us to reach. But we understand that God has diversities in the way He distributes His spiritual gifts. Let us understand, we will all be perfectly aligned in heaven and while we may differ on this earth, we are still God’s children, and we all believe in the same salvation in Jesus Christ. 1 John 4:7 - 8 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. (8) He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” And remember, no matter who is teaching you, it is your responsibility to study and seek the truth. We will all stand before Jesus Christ and be judged.

I am what God hath made me.

1 Corinthians 15:10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”

I use this verse a lot because it shows humility by the most popular Apostle that God called to that work. I do not know if the Apostle Paul had realized in his life just how much that God used him. But we in this time understand just how great he was by God’s grace. I do not know if some of the great preachers in history ever thought that in the 21^st century churches and Pastors would be quoting them as much as they do. Great people, whether men or women are used of God as God choses to use them and if there is any greatness of our works, it is because of God’s work of grace in us. However humbly Paul thought of himself, it would have been mere unfaithfulness to downplay his own work in the Lord. If we truly believe that we are what we are by God’s grace, then we must believe that we have no personal effects on what God is doing. Paul, as great as he was, and as humbled as he was, was exactly what God ordained him to be, no greater and lesser because the ministry was God’s hand of work. God reminds us in Philippians 2:13-14 “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings:” Brother John Trapp wrote in the early 1600’s these words, “When God hath turned, and doth touch us, we must move; and while the Spirit imbreathes us, we must turn about like the mill.” This is because God’s Holy Spirit is giving us the “will and to do of his good pleasure.” We do not choose our Christian path in life, and we do not edify nor advance what God has chosen for us to do and accomplish for Him. Jesus said in, Matthew 10:20 “For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.” Whatever we are in our Christian life it is by the hand of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that is our power and influence over our ministry and Christian walk. Remember that God reminds us in Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” God not only chose us to salvation in Jesus Christ, called us by the power of the Holy Spirit thru the Gospel of Jesus Christ, quickened our dead spirits, caused us to hear the gospel, and led us to believe, He also works every day in our Christian life giving us “both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” The Apostle Paul was truly what he was by God’s grace, and while it does not lessen his greatness it also gives all glory to God. Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 5:32 - 33 “Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.” Not that you possible could or that it you work hard enough, or if you are good enough, “Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you…” Whatever you do for the Lord, never forget to be reminded that we do not fight for greatness, but rather accomplishments in doing whatever God commands. If any of us think of ourselves as anything outside of God’s grace we have failed miserably.