Saturday, July 18, 2009
Matthew 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
At the beginning of the Sermon on Mount (Matthew 5:1-10) Jesus described inner and outer qualities of a Christian. These two types of qualities are like the parts of a candle. Inner qualities--the wick. Outer qualities--the wax. The wick and the wax don't do much illuminating alone. But put them together and they burn steadily in the darkness.
So it is with the inner and outer qualities of a Christian. Together they shine, illuminate the way of Jesus--both, the way of Salvation that is faith in Christ, and also the way of godly living that Christ's disciples seek to follow.
Christians may have very different role models they seek to emulate, but we can all agree on this: we want to be like "the blessed" that Jesus describes in the Sermon on the Mount. We want to be His followers in more than just talk.
When we try to live Jesus' teachings, we will succeed and we will fail. When we fail, we will look in faith to Christ for forgiveness. We will pray to Him for forgiveness, knowing that His sacrifice on the cross washes our sins away. Knowing that His sacrifice sheds light into our darkness; knowing His sacrifice has taken us from the kingdom of hell and made us part of the Kingdom of Heaven. May God's Holy Spirit enable us to live as holy citizens of that country, right now, to the glory of God the Father.
