Salt and Light (Part 2)

"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." - Jesus (Matthew 5:13-16)

The Light of the World - wow, that is a big deal. Jesus tells us in John 8:12 that He is the light of the world and tells us that if we follow Him we will not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. In the first half of these verses in Matthew, Jesus says that we will be salt. (see Part 1 of my blog) We will add flavor, bring preservation and administer healing. In the second half, He tells us that while we are doing those things, we will bring light to an otherwise dark world. Of course it is not our light that we bring! Rather as the moon reflects the light of the sun, in our doing good, being salt... we reflect the light of the Son.

There is a sense in which the follower of Christ is to be show-off. I know, I know... that made you uncomfortable. (me too) But take a moment and reread the verses... (do it now). Waiting, waiting. Ok, Jesus calls His disciples cities on a hill that cannot be hidden. He tells us that we are lamps to be put on a stand to light the entire house. I know, most folks are cautious to keep their good works to themselves and we even have scripture that cautions us about doing our works "to be seen". So, what do we do with this? How do we keep His command to "let our light shine before others" and not do it in a way "to be seen by others"?

His closing remarks should give us some insight into what He wants from us. He tells us to... let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. When we do good, we need to check our motives. Am I doing this to receive the praise of others or am I doing it to point to God? Who gets the glory? In our showing-off, it must be done such that Jesus gets the praise. The beatitudes gave us insight into the character that Jesus expects of those that follow Him. Go back and reread the first 12 verses. Is it even possible for someone that is living out the beatitudes to seek personal glory?

What I am trying to say, however poorly I am saying it is this - when we live as He calls us to live, people are going to see a difference. And when they see a difference, we must tell them about God. As lights of the world, it is our job to tell others the source of the light that they see. I like what Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5, God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. (The Message) That's our job! Tell everyone why we glow :). Glory to God! Glory to God! That is what we are doing... when we shine it brings glory to God. Shine on!