Section 9
and our function as luminaries possessing the divine life and nature is to shine. As sons of God with the divine life, we have the function of shining. In our daily living we should not merely behave ourselves according to a certain standard—we should shine.
As luminaries, we in ourselves do not possess any light. Our shining is simply the reflection of light which we receive from another source. Christ is the light, the real sun, and we reflect Him by holding forth the word of life. Thus, our shining is actually our reflection of Christ as the source of our light.
We shine by holding forth the word of life. According to Colossians 3:16, we should allow the word of Christ to dwell in us, to inhabit us, richly. Then we shall have the word of life with which to shine. In order to hold forth the word of life, we must first have the divine life within us. Because we are supplied with this life and energized by it, we can shine as luminaries by holding forth the word of life. The more we are nourished by feeding on the word of life, digest ing and assimilating this word, the greater will be the accumulation of the word within us. Then spontaneously we shall shine with the very word of life we have taken into us. This shining will