Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:12 NLT

You are the light of the world – like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. Matthew 5:14-16 NLT

Do you remember the very first thing that God made when He created the world? If you said, “light” you are right! Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. Genesis 1:3-4a Light pushes away the darkness. Have you ever been afraid of the dark? When I was little, if I heard a noise in the darkness and didn’t know what it was, I was afraid. But once I got a nightlight, I could see enough to know there was nothing to be afraid of in my room.

In our first verse, Jesus tells the people, and each one of us, that He is the light of the world. And when we follow Jesus, we, too, can have the light of life like Jesus. Wow! We can be light!

In our second verses, Jesus explains that we are light, like a city on a hill, shining light for all the world to see. Jesus tells us to let all the good things we do for others shine so that those who see our good deeds will know that we follow Jesus and will give praise God the Father.

Do you have a favorite superhero, or book character or special person you look up to? We tend to want to be like our superheroes, or characters in a movie or book, or someone we know and like.

When we follow Jesus, it means that we begin to do the things that Jesus would have done. We love the people we meet because God created them too, we want to be kind and care about people and encourage them, we want to help someone in trouble, we want to smile and be friendly, we want to shine the light of Jesus for others to see. And maybe they will want to be like Jesus, too!

This week, talk with your parents about shining your light for others to see. Together think of some things you can do to be like Jesus. You and I might not be able to perform a miracle and heal someone, but we can shine Jesus by visiting someone who is sick, or comfort someone who is hurting or sad, or make a meal for someone who is hungry, and we can always smile and brighten someone’s day.

Blessings my young followers of Jesus, now go and shine!