I spent some time yesterday with a friend in a waiting area at a local hospital. The room was spacious and beautifully decorated. My friend was surprised to find that the lamps in the room did not work. They did not produce any light at all. Their only function was to look pretty.

That’s not my idea of what a lamp is supposed to be. Lamps are meant to provide light in areas where light is needed.

So it is with Christians. We aren’t meant to be useless decorative objects. We are supposed to have a function. We are designed to shed the light of God in a world that is filled with darkness. Jesus says, “You are the light of the world…Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16).

Don’t be a mere decoration! Be a functioning light.