In this world as light.

Many times, people are released from serving their full jail sentence based on their good behavior.

In Christ, we have been forgiven. And this is not a mean to quickly leave Earth and enter heaven.

As Christians, we’re serving life. We’re here either until we die or until the Lord returns, whichever happens first. Our good behavior is not to grant us quick bodily access into heaven, but to influence those here on Earth and share the hope we have with them.

Earth can be livable if your hope is in Christ. Only through Christ, do we find the strength to go from day to day.

If some repented criminals were to remain in jail to positively influence the new arrivals, hope would be reaped.

We can say that those with good behaviors do not belong in prison. Well…prison needs them as light.

If you purge light out of the place, only darkness will remain.

“we are the light of the world.”, Jesus said. We are such only because of him dwelling in us.

Living here on earth can seem miserable. But we who are Christians have known misery through the cross of Jesus Christ, and there’s no greater misery than such. This, indeed, is why we rejoice in our suffering. For as Christ suffered here on Earth, we too, being conformed to his image by the Holy Spirit, we too are suffering.

Even as we have light, we do suffer because we’re still in this world, clothed with a body that can suffer. We also have an earthly mindset not to live by, but to remember how others who do not have Christ deceivingly see the world.

When we look at our old selves we can then understand the struggles of those who are of the world.

As Paul had said by grace,
“So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:17-24)

We’re here on earth, serving a life sentence. We’re here until our earthly end. We’re here serving the life of Christ. And as we’re here, we’re the hope of the world because of Christ. And hope does not put us to shame.