Thursday, August 28, 2014

August 29, 2014

"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."  Matthew 5:14-16

I am an ice cream lover. I would love to eat a lot more of it than I allow myself to enjoy.

How about you?

Imagine this, the only ice cream you have ever known is simply crushed ice with some cream poured over it. It is cold and it is refreshing and it's all there is.

But one glorious day you happen past a little store front place with an sign out front declaring, ICE CREAM!

Since it is a warm day you decide to grab a couple of dips on a cone. So, you walk into the store and say, "I would like two dips on a sugar cone please."

The kid behind the counter asks, "Would you like vanilla or chocolate?"

You are stumped. You don't know what to say. No one has ever asked you that before and crushed ice is all you've known.

Could I have a little sample please?

"Sure! Which would you like to try?"

"Uh, I don't know. Which do you like?"

"Here, try the chocolate it's my favorite and he hands you a spoonful and it is love a first lick!"

Before you leave the establishment you have consumed a double scoop of chocolate AND a doubled scoop of vanilla! Your whole ice cream appetite has been changed forever. Never again will you even think about that crushed ice stuff.

That is what Jesus intends for His followers who are "the salt of the earth". Those who have been revolutionized by His righteousness are to shock the spiritual taste buds of a world devoid of flavor.

You are on I-95 heading toward D.C. You are bumper-to-bumper and door-to-door in traffic. It is a pitch dark night with no trace of the moon or stars. When I say pitch dark I mean no one has headlights dark!

Those of you who regularly drive I-95 know how nerve wracking it can be in broad daylight under the best of conditions. Can you imagine driving it in zero visibility conditions?

Think what a relief it would be to suddenly discover you had headlights! You would be relieved because you could see and others would be relieved because they could see you and see others in the light of your headlights.

Jesus said, "You are the light of the world".

I share these hypothetical situations with you to help illustrate the importance of being "salt' and "light".

If you are a follower of Christ He makes it clear that you ARE salt and you ARE light. You will have an impact on your world. Will you flavor your world or will you leave a bad taste? Will you dispel the darkness or add to it?


August 28, 2014

"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."  Matthew 5:14-16

"A well-known Bible teacher has just finished speaking to a large class of business people on the Christians' responsibility to be light in the world. He had emphasized the as believers we all have the obligation to reflect the Light in the world, the Lord Jesus. 

After the class, one the members related to him an experience he had in his home that impressed upon him the same truth. He said that in the darkest corner of his basement he had made a surprising discover. Some potatoes in that darkest corner had sprouted and where growing. At first he could not figure how they had gotten enough light to sprout and grow. Then he noticed that the hung from the ceiling near the basement window was a shiny copper kettle that was brightly polished and it was in the perfect position to reflect the sun's rays onto the potatoes in that darkest corner of the room. 


The person relating the story said, "When I saw that, I thought, I may not a preacher or a teacher with the ability to expound Scripture, but a least I can be a copper kettle catching the rays of the S - O - N and reflect His light to someone."



It is instructive to realize when Jesus calls His disciples to be "the light of the world" He is not calling them to produce light but to reflect His light like the copper kettle did in the story.

Here are some practical truths that are illuminated by this shiny kettle:

Christians are called to be in the light. This kettle was hung near a basement window where it could be exposed to the light during the day.

You cannot be a follower of Christ unless you are in the light because He IS the light and He dwells in His believers.

Christians are to keep their lives clear and shiny. Though the kettle was positioned in the light, if it had been all tarnished and dull it would not have reflected sufficient light to give life to the potato.

Is your life dulled by the tarnish of sin and unable to reflect His light or is it pure and polished to brightly reflect God's light to others?

Christians are expected to be positioned between His light and the darkness of the world so they can strategically and effectively penetrate the darkness with God's light and life.

Are you remaining close enough to the darkness that you can impact it with the reflection of God's light?

When Jesus says, "You are the light of the world" He could have said, "I am the light and you are to be the reflector of My light into a dark and dying world."