Let Your Light Shine!

Matthew 5:16 (ESV)

… Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

An article entitled “Atheists in Praise of Christianity?” was published on May 19, 2020 by a website called www.stream.org. In the article, author Jonathan Van Maren wrote on how a growing number of atheists are acknowledging that Christianity was responsible for transforming the world. He cited the book of historian Tom Holland (not to be mistaken with the Spiderman actor!), Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World, wherein Holland makes a historical defense of Christianity. Holland cited how Christianity changed the world for the better such as the teachings on sex and marriage, and on the elevation of the status of women as being equal with men. Holland would point out that without Christianity, the world would not have perceived the wrongfulness of social injustice.

Holland is not the sole atheist defending Christianity. Others mentioned in the article included Douglas Murray who believes that the decline of Christianity has led to the rejection of the sanctity of human life. Even the most outspoken atheist of our generation, Richard Dawkins, has admitted that Christianity has good effects on society. Psychologist Jordan Peterson wrote that without Christianity, cruelty is inevitable. While these scholars will not go so far as to say that Christianity is true, they are starting to believe that Christianity is necessary.

While the Christian faith can be defended rationally like what the late Rev. Ravi Zacharias was famously known for, what seems to speak loudest to people who are outside of the Faith are not the carefully crafted defense of the Christian faith, though they are needed. Instead, what spoke loudly and clearly to people, even to the scholastic atheists, is that the way the early Christians took their faith seriously and lived it out carefully has radically affected the world in a positive way.

Ravi Zacharias said, “We are living in a generation that listens with its eyes and thinks with its feelings. If they cannot see the gospel in you and me they will not feel the persuasion of what you and I are trying to present to them.” The truth is important, but if we don’t live out the truth, then who is going to believe our message?

It is no wonder that our Lord Jesus commanded us to let our light shine before others so that others may see our good works. It is when people see the consistency of our life with our words that they will be attracted to the Christian faith. It is when we faithfully obey God’s Word, as seen in our actions and in how we treat others, that people will then give us a fair hearing as to what we have to say regarding our Lord Jesus.

Do people know that you are a Christ-follower when they see how you live your life? How you treat others well? Are your words truthful yet loving? Do they know that you stand for the truth and for justice even in small ways? Our faithfulness to Christ as seen in our way of living speaks loudly; even atheists and agnostics are paying attention. Live for Jesus every day. Do good to others. Then declare why you live in such a manner – that it is all about Jesus.

(for those interested in the article, this is the link: https://stream.org/atheists-in-praise-of-christianity/)