We Need a Paradigm Shift

“Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the LORD rises to shine on you. Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the LORD rises and appears over you. All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance. (Isaiah 60:1-3 NLT)

The darker the night, the brighter the light. God's plan has always been to love and bless His people so that everyone around them will see it and give Him glory and yearn for that same relationship. Psalm 31:19 says He lavishes us with His favor and blesses us before the watching world. 

God desires to bless us because
1. He loves us and takes good care of us
2. It displayed his power and goodness
3. It causes those who don't know Him to desire Him
4. Through us, He is able to bless a fallen, hurting world. 

His goodness and glory reflect on us and causes us to reflect that glory to a dark and dying world. Jesus loves people and desires for us to be filled with the joy of His presence. As we spend time with Him, we are transformed and we then reflect who He is and how He loves to those around us. 

His desire is that His church would shine so brightly that the world would be drawn to us not repelled from us. We need a paradigm shift, God wants to love the world through us so that they might come to know Him. The church should not be the voice of criticism and judgement in the world but the voice of hope and salvation for all that are drawn to our light. 

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