God is not a hermit. His desire is for all to know and love Him. How does the One and Only True God reveal Himself? Throughout the Old Testament, God revealed Himself through prophets, through dreams, and through visions. One other way was through the Hebrew nation. They were to be His people, an example to the world of how God relates to His people. He revealed Himself as a mighty deliverer when He set His people free from slavery in Egypt was one example.
Isaiah in Isaiah 8:18 tells the Hebrews that they are to be for signs and wonders. What God would do in and through them would paint a picture of what God was like.
The apostle Paul communicates a similar thought in Philippians 2. Jesus has completed His work and has left it, of all things, to His followers. Shining as stars enables His followers to affect the world. Sounds wonderful, being a star, bringing light to a dark world, taking part with Christ to reveal God. Then it comes down to how we turn on that light, right down to the nitty gritty of how we live.
“Do all things without murmuring or disputing”
Grumbling and arguing are other words to describe what Paul is addressing here. If you really want to shine, live your life differently. Live blameless. Live harmless. Be rid of grumbling and murmuring. They show basic mistrust and unbelief in the goodness of God. It not only hurts our fellowship with God, it extinguishes our light.
In gratitude, living out a life of praise to God brings light to our dark world. The precious gift of Jesus, as a sacrifice for our sin, provides a good place to start!
