JANUARY 1 Psalm 118:25-29

The Rising Light

The Lord is God, shining upon us. (Psalm 118:27)

From the opening scene at Creation to the eternal daytime of Revelation, Scripture is full of glimpses of light. We know the source of all light, of course: the Father of lights (James 1:17, ESV), who loves to bless his people with his goodness. Often this true light is reflected in the people who recognize it. After all, Isaiah called God's people to rise and shine with his glory (Isaiah 60:1-3), and Jesus told his followers not only that he was the light of the world (John 8:12), but that they were too (Matthew 5:14). In the darkness that surrounds us every day, God draws people to himself through human agents who shine with his brilliance.

But you already know we don't shine perfectly; that is painfully obvious. A quick look at history and the culture around us reveals that God's people have only made a mark on this world when we have demonstrated unusual wisdom, power, or love. These are core attributes of God, and our impact as agents of salt and light will necessarily involve at least one of these three. They make up the foundation of our faith and demonstrate something of who God is to those around us.

This is a high calling — higher than our natural abilities. But that's by design. Few people are impressed when we show ourselves to be as wise, empowered, and loving as average people. But when these divine resources flow through us from beyond ourselves, wonderful things happen. Others notice. We become testimonies to a larger truth than even our own finite eyes can see and minds can grasp.

Make this your mission. Seek the gifts that come from beyond yourself. Resolve to live in the light, to reflect the glory of your Father in ways that differ from typical human interaction. Getting there will be a process, but the journey comes with a promise — that God's light, shining in you and through you, will change this world.

Father, fill me with the wisdom, power, and love of your presence. In the same ways I've received your light, let me reflect it for others to see. May the dawn of your glory rise in me and shine through me each day. Amen.

JANUARY 2 Matthew 28:18-20

Be Fruitful

Go and make disciples of all the nations. (Matthew 28:19)

Jesus sent his followers out into the world with a message, and both the sending and the message remain nonnegotiable today. No matter how much our society relativizes its versions of truth, how often people tell us to keep our beliefs to ourselves, or how skeptical others are of our faith, the imperative is still there. We should have no problem complying with the formal and informal rules of society and respecting the diversity of our culture and the people who compose it — but we still have a responsibility to be influential somewhere, somehow, in someone's life.

So how do we go about this? Some of us are bold in our conversations, while others' strengths are seen in examples of love and faith. Some of us emphasize apologetics and debate while others focus on works of mercy and compassion. And some of us seek demonstrations of spiritual power. Of all the many ways of reaching people with the truth and love of God, which are right?

Probably all of them, and some we haven't even thought of yet. The point is not which method is right — God created diverse personalities and distributed varying spiritual gifts — but whether we are intentional about our mission in the first place. People who rely exclusively on principles develop a relationship with principles rather than with God. As Jesus showed throughout his ministry, he works in different ways at different times. His character is not situational, but his ways are. And we are called to follow them attentively.

In the earliest pages of Genesis, God told the first couple to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth and influence it (Genesis 1:28). Jesus' words to his followers are the spiritual version of that mission. How each of us goes out into the world will depend on Jesus' leading, but the imperative of going applies to all. Every believer is called to pursue a life of fruitfulness, whether we ever see the fruit or not. Set your heart on that mission in full confidence that he is with you and will lead, strengthen, and bless you wherever you go.

Jesus, how do I fit into your purposes? Which corner of the world am I called to influence? How do you want me to represent you and your message? Show me, lead me, fill me. I say "yes" to your calling today and forever. Amen.

JANUARY 3 Hebrews 11:13-16

Foreigners and Nomads

All these people died still believing what God had promised them. ... They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. (Hebrews 11:13)

For the first three hundred years of Christian history, followers of Jesus were keenly aware of their alien status in this world. Our spiritual forebears lived in often-hostile territory among people who ignored or dismissed them and sometimes actively persecuted them. As believers in Jesus, they were no longer strangers and foreigners to God and his promises (Ephesians 2:19), but they were strangers and foreigners to the world and its ways. The citizens of heaven lived as exiles on earth.

That's not a new twist in the history of God's people. Exile is one of the first scenes in our story — fallen humanity driven out of Eden. The story line of redemption is a cycle of exiles and remnants: captives in Egypt and Babylon, wanderers looking for a place to live, returnees trying to rebuild the broken walls of their existence, hearts longing for their true home. Even today, we are told we are in the world but not of it — an ever-expanding righteous remnant growing into a vast, eternal Kingdom. As citizens of heaven living in occupied territory, we know that our story is not at its end.

That means we are living in two extremely important processes: (1) growing into the environment of heaven and learning God's ways; and (2) learning how to relate to and influence the world we live in. The two complement each other, but there is also tension between them. Will our spiritual growth separate us from our culture or engage it? Are we being sent into the world or delivered from it? Are we, as the saying goes, becoming so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good? Or, as it really should be, are we seeking heaven-mindedness in order to benefit those around us? These are questions foreigners and nomads have to ask. We have been loved, chosen, and called — and everything in our lives should be pointed toward demonstrating why.

Father, teach me how to relate to your world and mine. Help me fulfill my calling. As long as I am a stranger in this world, make me an ambassador of your Kingdom. Amen.

JANUARY 4 Matthew 5:13-16

Salt and Light

You are the salt of the earth. ... You are the light of the world. (Matthew 5:13-14)

Jesus never minimized the roles of his followers. He never told them to have modest aspirations; never reminded them they were only human; never limited their potential as Spirit-filled, divinely aided beings. No, he called them salt and light — agents of seasoning,...