Monday: Light in a Dark World
Daily Lesson for Monday 26th of January 2026
In Philippians 2:14, Paul urges the Philippians to “do all things without complaining and disputing” (NKJV). The challenges to church unity are so serious that it cannot be maintained without significant effort on our part. Unity within the church is a by-product of our union with Christ and obedience to His Word. And it’s vital to our witness, as Paul proceeds to point out, calling us to “shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15).
On a moonless night, away from the glare of cities and street lights, more stars are visible, and they seem to shine much more brightly. It’s the contrast that makes the difference. The blacker the sky, the more clearly the stars stand out. It’s the same with our witness.
Image © Kevin Carden at Goodsalt.com
The greater the moral darkness around us, the starker the contrast between the lives of God’s true followers and that of worldlings. How important it is, then, not to let the artificial lights of worldly ideas, pressures, and practices cause our witness to fade into the background or to disappear entirely.
Read Philippians 2:15-16. How does Paul describe what we, as children of God, are to be and to do?
“Blameless” means “faultless, without reproach.” It is used especially of Job and his blameless character (see Job 1:1,8, NKJV; Job 2:3, NKJV; see also Job 11:4; Job 33:9). The Greek word translated “harmless” literally means “unmixed, pure.” Jesus, in view of the vicious attacks that His witnesses are likely to face, encourages us to be “harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Paul similarly urges us to be “simple concerning evil” (Romans 16:19, NKJV). Our modern media channels are not known for pure, uplifting, and inspiring content. In times like these, David’s practice is a great rule for us today: “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes” (Psalms 101:3).
We should never fear being different—our faith should increasingly set us apart. The goal is to “shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). The only way to do that is to reject conformity to this world (Romans 12:2) by “holding fast the word of life” (Philippians 2:16, NKJV). Our choices determine whether we have lived with “the day of Christ” in view or have “run in vain” (Philippians 2:16, NKJV; compare 1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
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If there are areas of your life that you would consider “worldly” (and there probably are), how can you be cleansed from them? |
Light pollution is a big issue these days. Our cities flood the skies with light at night, making it difficult to observe upper atmosphere and asttonomical events. We have had some spectacular aurora events recently that have reached well beyond us, but around here, sandwiched between Sydney and Newcastle it has been difficult to see the event because of the glow from the city lights. Not only is light pollution affecting our vision of astronomical events, it is an issue on our roads. I do not like driving in our cities at night, especially when it is raining because it is so hard to pick out the traffic lights in the confusion of streetlighting, advertising, and other vehicle lights.
We like the light metaphor for our Christian witness and it’s a good one, but we need to come to terms that in the minds of people not attuned to Christianity, there is a confusion of lights, many claiming their light is the true light and the others are fake. I don’t really have a big “knockout” answer to that one. We all know that some find the true light but many do not.
In the midst of all this optical confusion one quality stands out; persistence. (I have a PhD in that, so you would expect me to say that wouldn’t you!) Paul makes it plain in a quote we used only yesterday. Here is the extended version:
In short, he is saying, “Keep the lights burning!” That’s persistence!
And if I can digress just a little bit into my research area; In computer science, a persistent system is one that in the event of a fault it will restart in a consistent state. I like that metaphor. We, as shining lights are not perfect and may fail, but when we do we will restart in a consistent state.
We may not be the brightest light in the environment, but with God’s help and power we can persist. And in a dark space a persistent light is more important than a spectacular flash.
The Bible extensively talks about a “dark world”. This is not a world without light or a world full of darkness (absence of light). What the Bible talks about is spiritual darkness and moral corruption. This is a world of moral confusion and spiritual blindness. This is separation from God. “They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God.” (Ephesians 4:18). Life lived outside Christ is a life of darkness. This is so because, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers.” (2 Corinthians 4:4). When people live in spiritual darkness all they produce is evil. “People loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”(John 3:19).
In the backdrop of this evil and crooked world, God is making an appeal to us believers to “Live as children of light… producing goodness, righteousness and truth.” ( Ephesians 5:8–9). We are not called to escape darkness, but shine within it. We are the light that consumes darkness. “You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14). We have been called to dispel darkness in the dark world through our lives. Let our deeds, words, and ways of life reflect Christ. Christ is the true light where darkness will never prevail. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness.” (John 8:12). We do not create our own light, but we reflect the light that comes from Christ. Therefore, the only way we can dispel darkness from our lives is to have Christ as the centre of all that we do.
“Once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:8).
Presented very well Omwenga Mwambi God bless you.
Beautiful
A lot of Christians feel that they are not shining as brightly as they could,(hiding their light due to fear, sin, or apathy),
The solution to this issue is not trying harder on your own, but drawing closer to the Source—spending time in prayer, Scripture, and allowing the Holy Spirit to work through you.
The goal is not to be a perfect person, but a surrendered person who lets the light of Jesus shine through them!!!!
There are people who may never open a page of the Bible in their entire lives. The greatest question to ponder is this: when they see me, what is it that they see? In my talk and way of life, what do they see? What is revealed through my actions? Do people see Jesus in me? Do they see the love, grace, truth, humility, and self-control that Christ has implanted in me? The Lord desires that we be a light in a dark world, not only through lip service, but through our actions (Matthew 5:16).
Many times, people are turned off by our religion because of our hypocrisy, double-speak, and selfishness tgat dominates our lives. Interestingly, there was something about Jesus that attracted and captivated people’s attention. He is an irresistible light. It is our responsibility as Christians to reflect that light in our lives. As Jesus said, “You are the light of the world, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden.” Once we make it our habit and lifestyle to exalt Jesus Christ in our communities, churches, neighborhoods, businesses, and in every detail of our lives, people will be drawn to Him. On the contrary, when we place the spotlight on ourselves, people sense our ego, pride, and selfishness and are repulsed. It was said of John the Baptist, “He was not the light, but he came only as a witness to the light.” That is our calling—to point others to Chris
In Philippians 2:15–16, Paul teaches that believers are called to live in such a way that they become visible witnesses of Christ in a dark and confused world. We are to shine as spiritual luminaries by reflecting the character of Jesus—so that no legitimate accusation, blame, or criticism can be brought against our lives. The world is impacted not only by what we say, but even more by how we live. Our conduct becomes a message, and our lifestyle becomes a testimony.
Paul’s point is that we are already called “light” in Christ; what remains is for us to allow that light to be seen. We do not shine by self-promotion, but by consistent purity, humility, and obedience to God. The brighter our character reflects Christ, the more clearly people around us will see the difference.
We can shine more brightly by being:
1. Blameless
To be blameless is to live in a way that leaves no room for justified criticism. It means being free from fault, scandal, and moral compromise—living with integrity, purity, and uprightness. A blameless person does not give others a valid reason to complain about their lifestyle, because their life aligns with the values of Christ.
2. Harmless
To be harmless is to be innocent, sincere, and pure in intention. It speaks of a life that is simple and genuine—without deceit, manipulation, or hidden motives. A harmless believer does not harm others with words, actions, or attitudes, but reflects the gentleness and honesty of Christ.
3. Faultless
To be faultless is to be without spiritual defects or moral stains that would dishonour God. It does not mean absolute sinlessness in human strength, but it points to a life that is being shaped by grace, cleansed by God, and growing in holiness. It is a life that is consistent, disciplined, and spiritually mature.
God bless you all brethren for your commentary on the scripture readings, this strengthens me.
The only way to see what is wrong within ourselves is to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us. We can hold nothing back. We have to open ourselves entirely to the Lord, and the blessing of peace will come. Thank God for the Bible (these lessons’ studies), for prayer, and for the Comforter. We are all short when we face the Divine, but Jesus presents Himself as our Lawyer, and if we accept His sacrifice for us, He saves us. Thank you, Lord, thanks, thanks, and many more thanks!!
Gentleness, tolerance and non resistance are well known characteristics of the child of God. In this regard,Paul admonishes us to “do all things without complaining and disputing”.While these are virtues Christians must uphold, it is easy to be mistaken for compliance and subservience to ungodly purposes. We need to be decerning in matters we not complain and dispute about and those that we need to.
On cleaning our nature of wordliness,we need to spend more time with God and His Word. The Holy Spirit will change our worldly hearts and minds to Godly heats and minds.
Our Lord said, “I am the light of the world.” John 8:12. He is the source. You might say I am a bit over-sensitive, but if that is the case; it is the fruitage of my life experience. Having your light shine; being a Christian is NOT simply a matter of CHOICE. It involves choice ; but it does not end at that point. Choice must be supported by POWER -we call that power Grace. In the context of allowing our lights to shine, we must speak of having that daily inter-personal connection with Jesus Christ ; a mere intellectual involvement will not suffice. He is the Source, we are the Lampshade – He is the flame ; we are the light bulb ; He is the electricity. I am reminded of His immortal words – “Without me you can do nothing.”(Read John 15 :5-8 MSG )
Anger, lying, stealing, being covetous are probably the most prominent aspects of a compromised Christian’s life. Opportunities to be tempted are always close by. The world says: “just do it” – every one does it, and Christ says: “just don’t do it”, I will help you! No one is perfect but Christ. But being in Christ does not mean to be inactive. We need to be engaged in righteous living, not just claim His Righteousness for ourselves – Col.3:12-14.
Matt.25:14-30 – v.18 “But he that had received one [talent] went and digged in the earth and hid his lord’s money”. And there it is – the friction between ‘just this one time’ versus ‘never’. How does one stay faithful in times when nobody looks? By just not doing it – not the little infractions nor the big ones. Instead, we are called to invest the treasure of God’s Light in order to be able to follow the Way of Life.
Just saying no to that which we know is harmful for ourselves as well as others and the community as a whole is not optional for those who truly love God with all their heart. They are repulsed by the mere thought of doing that which leads to destruction – choosing instead the Way of Light and Life – Joshua 24:15.
Jesus spoke to a crowd from atop a hill near Capernaum (Matthew 5:1), He taught His listeners, as well as future believers like us, to radiate the beauty of God’s love so the lost can see Him no matter what dark valley they may be journeying through.
Jesus emphasize to His hearers to put their trust in the Light,so that they might become Children of Light.
Thank uh so much for wonderful website that the people of God to find whatever they want here.
Seems as though Paul is talking about persistent constancy in our walk with Christ. I like that comparison of the software starting where you left off if you had an interruption. I know many of us have a focus problem, attention deficit(distraction) hyperactivity disorder, yet with daily focus on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, we too can have the joy of consistency and persistent focus on Him, Hebrews 12:2, abiding in His word, John 8:32, He gives us peace by and trough the Holy Spirit, John 14:27, Peace of mind comes by focus on Christ, Isaiah 26:3. Love for us was manifested by the Father giving us His Son. 1 John 4:7-11. We have His word, His truth, His joy, peace and sure salvation, all expressing His love. Come to think of it we have more than we need because we elected to be born again.
I the transparent medium(willing to be made willing to pass on His light), Thy glory to display.
We need to be very pure in our actions, characters and behaviors as Mathew 5:14 that we as Christians we are the light of the World so we need tell the World true Jesus because Jesus is the light of the World.