The Position of the Lights

Numbers (NIV) 

8The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to Aaron and say to him, ‘When you set up the lamps, see that all seven light up the area in front of the lampstand.’” 3 Aaron did so; he set up the lamps so that they faced forward on the lampstand, just as the Lord commanded Moses. 4 This is how the lampstand was made: It was made of hammered gold—from its base to its blossoms. The lampstand was made exactly like the pattern the Lord had shown Moses.

I stuck with the words “in front of” and “forward” when I read this verse, … the light should be “in front of the lampstand” and should be “faced forward”. They should be visible enough so that they do their purpose. More over it is written in Exodus 30:8 and Leviticus 24:3-4 that these lights should be regularly or continually tended by Aaron. That is the lights should be on always. No matter the situation is the lights should be shining in the front. When I think of these lights and try to figure out how the Ark of the Covenant looks like, the light that Jesus talked in Matthew 5 came to my mind. It says on verse 14 “You are the light of the world.” Yes, if we are the light then we should shine that light wherever we are regularly, no matter the situation that we are in. It is as simple as “if the light is there, it will shine”. However, it is not easy to do so, especially when it comes to regularly shining. As all simple things are not necessarily easy. 

But, what does that “shining the light” mean? How can we be sure that we are shining the light? From where do we get the light? How can we regularly shine the light? We can list more, …………. It is very common to ask such kind of questions anytime when we want to know deeper about anything. This time, about the “light”. I broke them down as per my understanding and I am sure you can add more. 

1. Who is the light? 

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 (NIV)

                                           2. What does that shining the light mean? 

Does that mean just telling people about Jesus? That’s just one thing but it is living in the right way to make God happy. Matthew 5:16 says “…, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” To put more on this, in Matthew 23:1-4 Jesus does not condemn teachers of the law and the Pharisees to preach, nor even their message from Scripture ... just their failure to practice what they preach (From The “Stumbling Blocks To Spirituality” Series)  

3. How can we be sure that we are shining the light?

Simply I can say that “Are you humble enough to serve others no matter where we are?” Serving God most of the time is related to church activities only. Yes, that is one aspect of it. But, serving means “to act as a servant” when? “continually” or “regularly”. Isaiah 57:15 (NIV) says, For this is what the high and exalted One says—he who lives forever, whose name is holy: 
“I live in a high and holy place, 
 but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, 
to revive the spirit of the lowly
 and to revive the heart of the contrite. 

4. How can we continually shine the light? 

If the source of the light is Jesus, John 8:12, then abiding in Him helps us to continually shine the light. John 15:4 say, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you.” Praying, reading, meditating His word and fellowshipping with others and etc. … it is simple but if we do not commit ourselves to do that it’s not easy to shine the light regularly.  Just to conclude, shining the light means becoming God’s best version of us everyday. Allowing Holy Spirit and allowing Jesus to flow through us. It shouldn’t be a burden on us. It should be something that comes naturally like our native language. Imagine that if you throw an open bottle into a river the water will flow inside of it and then it will sink totally to the bottom of a river filled by water. Jesus is the light. If we allow Him to flow in us, we will be filled with His light and immersed in Him (full of light) so that we can shine the true light that we’re destined to shine.

Matthew (NIV) 

514 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.