Light changes things. The discovery of a light switch brings relief to fingers fumbling along a dark wall and makes the space visible. A steady beam from a flashlight makes a dark path take shape during a late-night walk on a camping trip. Light makes the invisible visible and the dangerous more secure. As Christians, we too are changed by the Light. As Saul walked along the path to Damascus on his way to arrest believers, a Light stopped him in his tracks. Jesus called Saul from that blinding light and converted him from a life of sin to a life of service. Now, Saul changed to Paul, but not in name alone. He was changed from an enemy of Christ and a persecutor of the Way to one of the greatest missionaries of all time proclaiming the grace of Jesus to the ends of the Roman Empire.

We too have been changed by the Light. The details of our conversion are different, but in the same way Jesus, the Light of the world, called us to himself and made us his children when we were baptized. Through the work of the Holy Spirit and the Word, we were changed from sinner to saint, from enemy to dear child and from dead to alive. That Light shifted our trajectory from a life of self service to one of Christ service. The apostle Paul reiterated that point in his letter to the Ephesians, “For you were once darkness but now you are light in the Lord.” (5:8) What we once were, we can no longer remain.

The light of Jesus not only changes who we are, but it changes how we live. Because of the grace of Jesus, we want to serve him in every facet of our life and reflect his love and light into the lives of others. Paul’s instructions to “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21) become our mantra as we work to serve others in humility out of love for our Savior Jesus. As we reflect the light of Christ in our homes, we pray that the Lord would use that light. We pray that in a sinful world characterized by strife and brokenness, our Christian homes might become a beacon of light in the darkness. A light that draws others to learn of the peace of forgiveness of sins and eternal life that is found in Christ Jesus alone.