You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.  Matthew 5:14-16 HCSB

My 7 year old niece went through a phase about a year ago when she wanted to be a spy. There was one problem. She is adorable and because of this she gets called “cute” quite a bit. She didn’t want people to see her as cute, she wanted people to see her for the vicious spy that she is.  She complained to me that no one seemed to understand that she was not cute but vicious and she was going to have to make people understand this. It was then that I pointed out to her that as a spy she really wanted people to think that she was cute and not vicious.  This way her cover would not be blown.  She could run around letting everyone think she is just this cute little girl and only a chosen few of us would know what a vicious spy she really is. She could keep the whole spy thing undercover.

So my question for you today is, are you keeping your secret safe with your Christianity?  Are you keeping it all undercover? Are you attempting to infiltrate your sinner friends with your Christianity? In doing so, are you hanging out at the bars and drinking with them? Are you using the same language that they use? Are you doing the same things that they do in order to fit in?

In the 1991 movie, Rush, Jason Patric and Jennifer Jason Leigh starred as two narcotics officers who went to make a heroine buy and were confronted by the dealer who suspected that they were undercover police officers. In order to prove that they were indeed heroine users the buyer insisted that they shoot themselves up with the substance right there in front of him. This of course left them addicted to heroine. Now, I infuriated a friend who was a narcotics officer when I asked him if he had ever experienced anything like this while making a buy? He told me that a good officer maintains control of the buy and would not allow this to happen. This is the reason that I never had any desire whatsoever to become a narcotics officer. I didn’t want to have to assimilate into that culture.

But what about those of us who spend our Sundays on a church pew and the rest of the week as undercover Christians? My friend, if you are a Christian, you can’t be undercover. Just like the uniformed patrol officer, anyone who is paying even a little bit of attention can take one look at you and see that you are a Christian. You stand out as much as a person in full uniform.

God commands us to let our lights shine. We should be the light that guides others to Him. We should be the light that permeates the darkness that is caused by the sin of this world.

So, I ask you today are you trying to be an undercover Christian? There is no such thing. Either you remain lost in the sin that once held you bondage or you exhibit the fruit of the Spirit which includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self- control.

I say often that God doesn’t save us in order for us to sit around and look pretty, he saves us in order that we might draw others to Him. So let your light shine. Let others see Christ in you.

Have a great day!