The Shining City

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising (Isaiah 60:1-3).

“Time to rise and shine,” my father would often say at the top of a new day.

As a small lad of a boy, it did not occur to me how significant those words were. Nor did I think of the biblical allusion which was being made. The words were simply those I did not want to hear as I was reluctantly stirred from the night’s restful slumber.

But there were those occasions when “time to rise and shine” was a wonderful arousal and much anticipated. Christmas morning. The first day of hunting season. Leaving for a two-week long “preaching trip.” On these occasions the words were the best I could imagine!

Even so it was for ancient Israel when the prophet shouted these words, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” It was time for the people to wake up for light had come and the glory of the Lord was all around. What better “day” to wake up to? With darkness enveloping the rest of the world, “gross” and thick, Israel experiences light and is called to rise and shine! The promise even assures them that Gentiles and kings of earth will come at the brightness of their rising. It is an amazing snapshot of a new day – a day fulfilled when Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, came as the Word made flesh. It will be ultimately and completely fulfilled when all of God’s family from every tongue, people, and nation is gathered into a final glorified state.

However, in this present time, the words are still important to us. It has well been said that in our time of waiting for the Lord’s return, Christians “pre-enact” a new way of living which we will continue and fully enjoy in the final day. Here we seek to live with the truths of Scripture guiding our choices and decisions, and we seek to set our affections on things above (Colossians 3:2). We labor to relinquish our hold on things of earth, except wherein those earthly things point us to heavenly things. In these ways, our lights shine also, like the ancient Israelites. The light of Christ fills us and is reflected by us into the darkness of the time. This is the Christian’s calling and is what it means to be “a new creature” in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Practically speaking, we need to be reminded (perhaps jolted) of our responsibilities and privileges to be those who reflect the light of another world into this world. This is the heart of evangelism. God could have called angels to preach the gospel and witness His truth in the world, and in many ways, this would have been more efficient! However, it was His good pleasure to work through earthen vessels, human beings who are encompassed with weakness and sin. Preaching the Word is, in simplest terms, a reflection of the Light of Christ – a spilling over, as it were, of the glory of another world into this one. To share the Word with another is to shine as a light in a dark place (Philippians 2:15). Since human hearts are fallen, darkness prevails. The light of the glorious gospel of Christ is the great need of the darkened heart. If this gospel is not empowered by the Holy Spirit, it will have no positive effect. But when the Spirit effectively opens the heart and the message is received, the light shines all the brighter, contagiously so! This accounts for the spread of the gospel and the duration of its message over the past two millennia.

When people thus blessed with the light of the glory of God are gathered into an assembly, a church is formed. Candles are placed on the candlestick and light is shed all around. In fact, Jesus even compares this to a city – a brilliant, glimmering, shining city (Matthew 5:14)! This brilliant light cannot be hidden. Impact on the darkness around is inevitable for light always overcomes darkness.

“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” The straightforward admonition is to awake from our slumber, lay hold of the labor of the day, and shine forth as a city of light. The Lord of Glory has come and all power is His. Therefore, “Go…and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:18).

“Time to rise and shine!”