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LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE!
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for believers in speech, in love, in faith and in purity (1 Timothy 4:12)
Well, this statement might look simple but honestly, its importance lies in its simplicity. What I mean is that as simple and unimportant as these may sound; speech, love, faith and purity, they are very important and KEY in the everyday life of a believer. They are powerful weapons, characters that every believer that is intentional about kingdom living should imbibe.
Now let’s quickly take them one after the other.
SPEECH: It really saddens my heart when I see people talking ‘anyhow’, not minding the implications of the words they say. We sometimes tend to forget that words are seeds. A great man once said, ‘your words have the ability to go to your future and wait for you’. Oh yes, your words are that powerful! But isn’t it weird that even though our words carry such power, it seems as if whenever we manage to say anything good, they do not come outrightly. Have you wondered why your words are not powerful yet? Well, the Bible has helped us answer that question by categorically stressing it that “…. the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity” (James 3:6, 1:19). It then means that if what proceed from your mouth is iniquity time after time, how do you expect the same mouth to say something positive and it would be powerful? Take a little time to think on this!
LOVE: Love is another attribute we easily downplay. “But love is the greatest.” If the Bible tells us love is the greatest, how dare you think that love doesn’t amount to anything? Who told you that love doesn’t matter? In case you don’t know, expressing genuine love is second to none! Who is love? Christ is love. What is love? Emulating Christ’s footsteps is love. It is love in its entirety to abide in the commandments of Christ. Dear believer, I want to encourage you to love in thoughts, words and action in God’s way. What is God’s way? God’s way is in Christ. He who does not have Christ can never truly love.
FAITH: Here comes the subject of faith, again and again we talk about faith. But let me ask you these questions, can you say that as a believer, you truly have faith or you just go about speaking ill about any and everything revolving around you? Not having faith is giving room for fear. Faith and fear have something in common; they both make you believe something is about to happen. Not having faith is directly proportional to letting your fear take over you. Now that’s faith and fear, but how about faith and optimism? There’s a thin line between having faith and being optimistic. Of course, it is expected that you should be optimistic about everything that concerns you. Don’t go around inviting evil through your thoughts and words triggered by unbelief. However, on the other hand, faith is spiritual, same way your words are spiritual (…for the Words I speak to you are spirit and life.) In this Kingdom, the kinds of words you say you utter tells a lot about how much faith you have. When men say there’s a casting down never speak the same words as them, you simply say there’s a lifting up! Job 22:29
PURITY: “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God” Matthew 5:8 Beyond living on this earth realm, be conscious of eternity. Maintain purity in all aspect. But how you do this? How can you be pure? It’s simple; abstaining from sin! Anything that does not look like Christ should be avoided. Fleshly desires as stated in Galatians 5:16-26 should be utterly turned away from. You’re in the flesh but you’re not of the flesh. Romans 8:1-10, 1Corinthians 6:19-20. Study the word of God, guard your heart and keep his commands. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you for it is not possible with men, only God can make it possible.
Final Tips: Summarily, speech and conduct, faith, love and purity are attributes real believers should possess. By virtue of being a born again (believer), you are already implicated to living an exemplary life. You’re to live your today as though it’s your last. I pray your life be worthy of emulation and may people abide in your footsteps in Jesus Name, Amen. Dear readers, you cannot let your light fade.
You’re the light, I am the light, we are the light of the world, we have the great Light!!!
By: Adamu Dano Happiness