Let Light Shine Out of Darkness

2 Corinthians 4:1-6 - 1Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"[a]made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

I am attaching the Scripture to this devotional because I want you to read it, then read it again, and then the third time circle key phrases and ideas that you might have missed unless you took time to read it carefully. I do this because this passage is usually just read as 2 Corinthians 4 part of the Jars of Clay section. However, you miss great detail if you don’t examine the setup to that verse (which will be tomorrow). For example, we all know that we have to do God’s work in sharing Jesus no matter what the cost, that is the “ministry” mentioned in verse 1 but again a detail that needs to be remembered is “since through God’s mercy”. It isn’t because we should feel guilty or this is a duty we are commanded to do, it is because of the grace and mercy that motivates and propels us in having this partnership and ministry with God. So now do it for the rest of the passage.
Now, we can see the challenge here as Paul saying that the world is blinded by the evil one not to see God. However, we should not use deceptive ways or manipulation to share Christ with others. It is all about just preaching and sharing Jesus. I want to be careful because this isn’t telling us not to share your testimony but the clarification should be that your testimony gives glory to God and points people to Jesus not to you.

Look at verse 6, For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,“ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. If you are having a hard time figuring out how to share the truth with others, this is the perfect verse for you. Pray, reflect, memorize this verse so that the light will shine out of the darkness as we get closer to understanding and intimacy with Christ.