Verse of the day: Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is
set on a hill cannot be hidden.
One would think that being the
salt of the earth and the light of the world would be the same thing; but in
reality, there is a difference. In being the salt of the earth, we are here to
add flavor to the life of others, but that flavor comes from a genuine change
from within. A Christian who is salt is a Christian who has a pure heart toward
God and the things of God. Their attitude and actions come from a genuine
desire to do what is right before God, regardless of whether others see it or
not. To be light is the result of having a changed heart, and a changed mind.
It is the outward actions that are seen by the world that are the true result
of God working in us and changing us. Jesus told the disciples, and us, that
they were the light of the world (Eph 5:8; Phil 2:15). This is a title that
belongs to the Lord Himself (Jn 1:5; 8:12; 9:5). To be light is to behave
outwardly in such a way that it honors God and is without hypocrisy. We are His
ambassadors, and we ought to be shining His light brightly in this dark world. Our
relationship to the Lord is like that of the sun and the moon. The sun provides
the light of day, and the moon does not reflect its own light to bring light
into the night, but it reflects the light of the sun. The more sincere we are
in our personal relationship with the Lord, the brighter Jesus’ light will
shine through us. As salt, when we touch the lives of others, Jesus will affect
them internally as they are drawn to Him and call upon Him. As light, when we
touch the lives of others, this allows the Holy Spirit to convict the unsaved
of their sins, as He uses us to outwardly display true righteousness and holy
living, in love, so that once again they will be drawn unto Jesus and call upon
Him. The danger that exists in this is that once people find out that we are
followers of Jesus, we are almost immediately put under a microscope, and
people begin to find fault in us; for this reason it is of utmost importance
that we maintain a genuine, intimate, relationship with Jesus. We must
prayerfully stay in His Word, and be doers of His Word and not just hearers,
because we are having a true love affair with Jesus (Jm 1:22; Jn 14:15). The bottom
line is that once we begin to shine the light of Christ in our lives, it needs
to shine so brightly that it cannot be hidden or extinguished. It must shine so
brightly, that wherever we go the darkness is dispelled because a way is made
for the righteousness of Jesus to shine. The end result that Jesus desires is
that men will glory our Heavenly Father (v. 16). Although living for the Lord
can bring us many challenges in this dark world, the bottom line is that true
happiness in Christ comes from living a life of allows us to be the salt and
light of this world. If you have never had the blessed privilege of watching
how the Lord works in our lives when we live for Him and suffer for His sake,
or had the privilege, and blessing, of leading someone to Christ as a result of
living for Jesus, then you have not yet experienced true happiness. When we
become the Christian that Jesus describes in His Sermon of the Mount, we become
a Christian who is truly having an blessed, intimate, relationship with our
Lord and Savior.
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