Arise! Shine! Your light has come;
    the Lord’s glory has shone upon you.
 Though darkness covers the earth
    and gloom the nations,
    the Lord will shine upon you;
    God’s glory will appear over you.
Nations will come to your light
    and kings to your dawning radiance.

Isaiah 60:1-3

Jesus spoke to the people again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me won’t walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12

I particularly love the implications of the prophesy from Isaiah: “Nations will come to your light and kings to your dawning radiance.” This is my core understanding of evangelism.

Rather than buttonholing passersby on the street, shaming people, or handing out mean-spirited tracts, I have always believed our essential responsibility was/is to shine God’s good light.

I have two personal stories that go with this. One involving each of our children.

“Mad about God”

The first was in Pensacola, when Andrew was four or five years old. We were at a street corner where a young man from the Bible College was “preaching” through a bullhorn. He was yelling things such as, “Does someone you love have cancer? God is punishing them because you are a sinner!!” and, “God has already condemned you to eternal torment! Repent or burn!!!”

How do I remember, you ask? Believe me, you don’t easily forget tirades about cancer when a young mother in your church had only recently died from the disease. And the vitriol the man was spewing was frequently repeated all around town, in busy parking lots on Saturdays, and outside pubs and restaurants Friday and Saturday evenings.

Andrew looked out of the window then turned to us: “Mama,” he asked, honestly curious, “why is that man so mad about God?”

Fake tip:

In Tampa, when Naomi waited tables at a local restaurant, she said the worst customers (unkind, poor tips, rude, demanding) usually came to eat directly from church.

One memorable Sunday one large group was particularly unkind and condescending while talking loudly about worship at the megachurch they attended. When they finally left, our daughter was relieved to see they had at least left a tip.

Well, at first glance it did look like a $20 bill. But something about the gratuity appeared off, and when she turned it over the other side – it was a tract – read, in bold lettering, “You will receive your wages; the WAGES of SIN is DEATH.”

Then, unbelievably, the name of the church was listed, followed by an invitation to Sunday services!

The Good News is invitational:

The authentic message of Jesus is a beautiful invitation. If people are not attracted by the light, by our “dawning radiance”, then it is not Jesus we are following. Instead, it is what Rebekah sometimes refers to as “Bad Religion.”

The light Jesus brings is always good news. The star that stopped over the birthplace of Jesus was heralding the best news possible. The “dawning radiance” was all the invitation the Magi needed.

When people witness the way that we live, when they see who it is that we are, do they see the kind of light they may – one day – follow to church?

It is not only Jesus who is God’s invitation; we are too. – DEREK

Images of Advent light: