Restoring Your Light
A Biblical Look at Restoring a Fading Testimony
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." - Matthew 5:16
Not long ago, I decided to address an issue with my car's headlights, which had become yellowed, cloudy, and hazy. Even after a thorough car wash, they still looked the same. The truth was, my headlights weren't letting much light through, making them unsafe. I couldn't clearly see the road ahead, and others couldn't see the lights from my car very well. New headlights were expensive and therefore, not an option. A friend suggested a restoration kit that claimed to restore their clarity and brightness. At the auto parts store, I discovered many restoration products but all required sanding and elbow grease. However, it seemed worth it, and I decided, for both aesthetic and safety purposes, to give it a try.
The restoration was a huge success, and the results were excellent! The headlights now look brand new, and they're significantly brighter at night. I didn't realize just how much their brightness had faded over the years. Interestingly, the lights themselves were still functioning perfectly; it was just the outer glass or plastic that was blocking the light. The instructions that came with the restoration kit mentioned that this dulling occurs gradually, primarily due to the buildup of dirt, dust, sand, salt, and other pollutants. The main culprit, however, is the oxidation of the polycarbonate plastic lens, which is caused by long-term exposure to harmful UV rays from the sun.
You don't have to be a preacher to see parallels between those lights and our spiritual journey with God and the light we shine on those around us. Here are some scriptures that highlight the importance of our inner light and the ways it can dim and fade:
Ephesians 5:8-9: "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)."
Philippians 2:14-16: "Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, 'children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.' Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life."
Jesus teaches that we are the light of the world and gives the examples of a lamp stand or a city on a hill. He declares that our light is to be seen and not hidden, and fundamentally described our light as our witness. Essentially, the world is supposed to see Christ in and through us. This light is both an active and a passive form of a witness as we are called to actively radiate the light of Christ through our actions, and perhaps more significantly, through our reactions to the issues of life and the things that happen to us. On the passive side, we are to live in this world as a consistent reflection of God's light, not something we need to strive for, but rather an expression of our true identity, who we are in Christ. Here's how Peter describes this idea:
1 Peter 2:9: "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
So, what's keeping our light from shining brightly and clearly? For some possible answers, let's revisit my headlight analogy.
Contaminants
Elements like dirt, dust, sand, salt, and other road pollutants can create small scratches on the surface of the lens. These minor imperfections scatter light and can accumulate additional dirt, worsening the haze and reducing the lights' effectiveness. These contaminants don’t just wash off at a car wash. They actually damage the surface of the lens.
I grew up in a holiness church, where many of our 'dos and don'ts' centered on the potential destruction that could result from participating in sinful activities. Not just the destruction of our lives, but also in the damage to our witness to others. We could summarize most of this teaching in the following verse:
"Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness..." - Ephesians 5:11
The Apostle Paul also admonishes the Corinthian church with this challenge:
2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (The Message) “Don't become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That's not partnership; that's war. Is light best friends with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands? Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God's holy Temple? But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way:
"I'll live in them, move into them;
I'll be their God and they'll be my people.
So leave the corruption and compromise;
leave it for good," says God.
"Don't link up with those who will pollute you.
I want you all for myself.
I'll be a Father to you;
You'll be sons and daughters to me."
My observation is that many of us believers have 'linked up with those who pollute' and we have slowly, over time, allowed our lamps to become dirty, hazy, and ineffective witnesses to the world. One of the messages of holiness is that purity in Christ creates and restores clarity in our walk with God but also in our witness to others.
Harmful light
According to the headlight restoration instructions, "Extended exposure to harmful UV rays gradually deteriorates the polymers in car plastic headlights. Manufacturers apply a UV-resistant clear coat to protect the lenses, but eventually, this coating deteriorates, cracks, and peels away, exposing the polycarbonate underneath. Once exposed, the polycarbonate oxidizes and deteriorates." More simply said, it’s this process that results in the cloudy, yellowed look in the headlight lens. Most importantly, this diminishes the effectiveness of the headlights.
Paul warns us that Satan often appears as an angel of light, attempting to mimic the true light of Jesus. As believers in this world, we find ourselves frequently exposed to this counterfeit light. If we're not careful, we end up being exposed to this false, harmful light far more than the true light of God. Gradually, our light becomes cloudy and dim. Eventually, our ability to witness may fade or even vanish entirely. Hear the words of Jesus concerning this:
Luke 11:34-36 (NIV) "Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be fully illuminated, as when a lamp shines on you with its rays."
I'm fascinated by those devices designed to eliminate and ‘zap’ specific flying insects. Interestingly, these insects are attracted by the very light that leads to their downfall. Yet, this instinct is not limited to the insect world. Humans often mirror this behavior too, lingering and dwelling under the alluring yet dangerous and harmful light that diminishes our light and witness, usually oblivious to the fact that it might eventually and entirely extinguish the flame within our souls.
This deterioration of our witness and inner light is almost always a gradual process. We don’t realize how dim the light is until we are enveloped one day in overwhelming darkness. Restoring and keeping that clarity—both in our car headlights and in our spiritual walk—takes effort and intentionality. Since there is no magic restoration kit for our spiritual walk, we must start our work at the cross. I love that verse from the old hymn, ‘At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light.’ For it's there, at the cross, that Christ cleans and removes the gunk of sin from our soul and restores the luminance from our relationship with God. My holiness tradition would refer to this work as sanctification. Today, we might call it spiritual renewal. Both terms describe a work of restoration from the harmful effects of sin and living in the world. Need your lights restored? Head to the cross! Christ, our restorer, will meet you there!