Did you ever sing that song, “This little Light of Mine, I’m going to let it shine”? Well, that is a song about letting your testimony shine before other people, and that is a good thing to do!
John begins his Gospel by telling us that Jesus came into our world as a light shining in a dark place. He says, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men; and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:4-5). Now, later in John 8:12 we see that Jesus is the light of the world, and that means that He is the One who shows the world what God is like. You see, in 1John 1:5, John tells us that “God is light,” so when Jesus came into the world, it was God stepping into our planet, and the light of God began to shine for everybody to see.
The word “shine” is a word that means “to bring light to bear upon something.” Now, it can also mean “to become visible, to appear and show oneself,” and that is exactly what God did when He became a man.
Jesus was God making Himself visible. He was God appearing on Earth and showing Himself to people. That is what John meant when he said “And the light shines in the darkness” (John 1:5). Everything that Jesus did – and everything that Jesus said – showed mankind what God was like.
On one occasion Philip said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father,” to which Jesus replied, “Philip, he that has seen me has seen the Father.”
Our world is morally and spiritually dark. But for thirty-three years, as Jesus walked among men, the light of God’s presence shone in the dark. He was the light shining in the darkness.
Now you know the real meaning of the word.
Remember this: Whenever things begin to look dark – get your eyes on Jesus, and you will be surprised how things brighten up!