When John the apostle wrote in his gospel about John the baptizer, he told of the time messengers from the priests and Levites in Jerusalem were sent to ask who he was.

“Are you Elijah”, they asked (1:21) knowing that Malachi had prophesied that God would send Elijah before the day of the Lord would come:

“Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of thegreat and terrible day of the Lord. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse” Malachi 4:5-6

John answered them saying, “I am not”. But in fact he was “Elijah”, as Jesus said:

“Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come” Matthew 11:11-14

John did not seem to realize that he was the fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy. Just as John did not know the profound depth of his coming and his work, so you and I may well underestimate the power of our testimony of Jesus in this world.

Jesus did not say, “You are the light of the world” to the “Movers & Shakers” of his day, but to those who humbly came to hear his words. We even use Jesus' phrase “salt of the earth” of those whose daily lives reflect the consistent righteousness of God.

And so we continue the divine refrain, “Let your light so shine among men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven”.

You and I, like John, may have no idea of the divine will we are fulfilling and the impact we are making.