The English Puritan leader John Winthrop delivered a message to the colonists embarking from England to establish the Massachusetts Bay Colony in Boston in 1630. Drawing on Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:14—“A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden”—Winthrop exhorted the colonists to let their light shine in the New World.

The “city” was to be a city of light, based on Jesus’s preceding words, “You are the light of the world.” It is a powerful image. And the citizens of the “city” are to be the followers of Jesus Christ who are to be the light of the world. A “light of the world” implies that the world is in darkness, in need of the light of truth and salvation. Our mission as followers of Jesus is to take that light into the world and illuminate every dark corner.

Consider the part of the world you live in—your extended family, your friendship circle, your workplace—and how you can illuminate your part of the world with the presence of Christ. Ask God today to show you how to be His light.

The light of a holy example is the gospel’s main argument.
R. L. Dabney