Are You a Light and Example to the World?

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Being a Light to the World May Require Wearing a Lifejacket

Several years ago, my husband and I accompanied our sons and their families to a pond to do some fishing.  Our three grandkids were the ages of four, six, and eight.  Both boys instructed their kids to be careful around the water, but Jason went one step further. Throughout the afternoon, his daughter wore a life jacket.

A life jacket really wasn’t necessary because at all times the kids were to stay on the dry ground. Both parents were appropriately caring for their children. However, Jason wanted to ensure that if some unexpected thing happened and his daughter found herself in the water, she would be safe.

There may be times in our lives when God protects us by asking us to go beyond the actual words of Scripture. Through our pastors, other spiritual leaders God may place in our lives, mentors, or through impressions we receive during our prayer and Bible study times, God may seem to go beyond the requirements of His Word by instructing us to do something or refrain from doing something. These instructions may be just for you, not for the whole Church or your whole family, and they are for your protection based on your own life habits, experiences, or weaknesses. As the Apostle Paul taught the Corinthian church, all things are permissible but not all things are beneficial (1 Corinthians 10:23 BSB). So, God may protect us from some permitted things that are not beneficial.

Consider the Rechabites

You may not have heard of the Rechabites.  You can read about them in Jeremiah 35. The Rechabites were people who obeyed the spiritual authority God had placed over them despite the fact that his teaching went further than the Law required. 

In the Old Testament, only the priests and the Nazarites were required to refrain from drinking wine.  And the priests were forbidden to drink wine or strong drink only when they went into the tabernacle to minister before the Lord. Although the Law did not require total abstinence from wine, Jonadab, the Rechabites’ ancestor saw the danger of wine to his family. Therefore, to ensure they lived for the Lord, he was stricter than the Law and taught total abstinence (Jeremiah 35:6).  And the family submitted to this teaching, obeying it for generations (Jeremiah 35:8).

What was the result of the Rechabites’ obedience?  It caught God’s attention and He used them as an example to Judah and the inhabitants of Israel to teach them to obey the Lord (Jeremiah 35:14).

In response to something you were taught to do or refrain from doing, have you ever asked, “Is it a heaven or hell issue?”  That question indicates you are striving to merit your salvation by doing the minimum required. Instead, we need to do whatever will help us grow in our relationship with God.

Jesus taught His disciples to be a light to the world (Matthew 5:14). We are His disciples if we follow Him. As a light to the world, we are to be examples just as the Rechabites were. And like the Rechabites, God may ask us to go beyond the black and white requirements of Scripture.

If your pastor, another spiritual leader or mentor has taught more conservatively than you believe scripture requires, it is important to follow those teachings and not chalk them up to being unnecessary to make it to heaven.  And if God has impressed upon you during your prayer time and Bible study that you need to go beyond the requirements of scripture, follow that impression. He is either protecting you from something or setting you up to be an example to the world.

But wait, there’s more! According to Jeremiah 35:18-29, because the Rechabites obeyed the commandment of their father Jonadab, which was more restrictive than the Law required, the Rechabites would always have men who would follow the Lord forever.

Did you catch that? Submission to our godly authorities, even when they apply biblical principles in a way that seems to go beyond the actual requirements of Scripture, places us and our families in a place of promise and confidence that God will keep us and our families before Him forever. No, this is not eternal security.  But living in submission and obedience to the spiritual leaders God places in our lives and the impressions we receive from God is the way to see generations of our families stay true to God and His teachings.

Being Cautious or Wearing Lifejackets

The Apostle Paul taught the church in Philippi to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). And the Bereans were commended because they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so (Acts 17:11). When your pastor or other spiritual leader teaches you to do or refrain to do something that seems more conservative or restrictive than the Bible requires, be careful that you don’t disregard it out of hand by asking, “Is this a heaven or hell issue?” Instead, with reverence for God and the leaders He gives you, go to the scriptures to confirm the principles being taught. Be a light and an example in the world.

We can maintain a relationship with God by following the clear teachings of the Bible. That is similar to my sons’ instructing their children to be careful around the water. But we can have more confidence in the protection of God and walk more closely with Him when we submit to and obey when He impresses on us, or our pastors and spiritual leaders teach us, to go beyond the strict requirements of Scripture. That is like Jason protecting his daughter by requiring her to wear a lifejacket even though she would be standing on the shore. 

We can have confidence in God when we seek to walk closely with Him wearing whatever lifejacket He offers for protection instead of merely striving to do the minimum required to make it to heaven.