Recently an acquaintance revealed to me he could hear colour. My first thought was to shrug it off, since he's an artist-type and they're apt to assert such things. But here I am a few weeks later, researching synaesthesia and thinking about what it would be like to know what sky blue sounds like.

Wouldn't that be amazing? What an enhancement to everyday life! Without knowing what sound a colour makes, I'm now feeling like I'm missing out on something great. Like my world is actually bland and boring when it could be so much more. Like Dorothy's black and white world before she discovered the land over the rainbow.

Sometimes I wonder if this is what life is like for people who don't know Christ, and meeting Him puts colour and life into living. I think that's why I particularly appreciate the way the Message paraphrases Matthew 5:14-16.

Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

We are charged with bringing God's love to the world. Therefore, we should not shelter ourselves from others when sharing our faith seems awkward, or tolerate wrong living because it's easier than the alternative. We are to display our faith like a beacon—impossible to miss. And this is to be done in love, with a gracious and generous spirit. The light we bring is not to condemn people but to bring out the God-colours in the world; make others aware of His touch and ever-presence on our lives.

Our purpose on earth is to live out our faith in such a way others will want to try it out too. If we want make a difference in this world we need to be in the world, not hide from or avoid it. We need to be the enhancing light, which brings out the best in us and will in turn help others discover lasting joy and, ultimately, eternal life.