DOCTRINE

Ephesians 4:14,15—Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

Light in the Bible often stands for truth or the representation of God. Have you ever noticed how Jesus taught His followers to be lights that shone so that people were attracted, not lasers that burned so that people would be seared? If we are in love with Jesus, our light will shine at the right intensity. If we are in love with doctrine watch out—our light may stagger the very people we seek to reach.

Inspiration

If we are only true to a doctrine of Christianity instead of to Jesus Christ, we drive our ideas home with sledge-hammer blows, and the people who listen to us say, ‘Well that may be true’; but they resent the way it is presented. When we follow Jesus Christ the domineering attitude and dictatorial attitude go and the concentration on Jesus comes in.—Oswald Chambers in Studies in the Sermon on the Mount