Matthew
5:13-16
Jesus told his disciples, "Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
Food for thought!
In the Bible Jesus calls himself various names like, I am the Goodshepherd, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, I am the Vine, I am the Gate, and many others. But other times Jesus calls us names, like today he is referring to us as "salt" and "light". What is Jesus telling us about us?
Jesus calls us salt because of our preserving ability; we preserve society from going rotten; from going bad; from getting destroyed. Do you remember the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19? Those people could have been saved if there had been just 10 righteous men or Christians in Sodom and Gomorrah; but there were nobody, and the whole city was destroyed. So please don't go bad if and when everybody around you goes or does evil. If at your workplace you see everybody cutting the corners, please, don't follow suit; the presence and the prayers of "salty" Christians preserves and saves the rest from catastrophe.
Do you remember the message of Genesis 50: 20 and the heart of Joseph’s story? Joseph told his brother, "As for you , you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive." His brothers hated him and could not speak peaceably to him . . . they hated him even more . . . they hated him . . . his brothers envied him” (37: 4– 5, 8, 11). "They stripped Joseph of his tunic . . . they took him and cast him into a pit” (vv. 23– 24).
To cut a long story short, Joseph never gave up. Bitterness never staked its claim. Anger never metastasized into hatred. His heart never hardened; his resolve never vanished. He not only survived; he thrived. He ascended like a helium balloon. An Egyptian official promoted him to chief servant. The prison warden placed him over the inmates. And Pharaoh, the highest ruler on the planet, shoulder-tapped Joseph to serve as his prime minister. By the end of his life, Joseph was the second most powerful man of his generation. It is not hyperbole to state that he saved the world from starvation.
This is what means being salt of the earth; it means being the Joseph of today, the Joseph in your place of living; the Joseph that saves the world from starvation and death.
Jesus told his disciples, "Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
Food for thought!
In the Bible Jesus calls himself various names like, I am the Goodshepherd, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, I am the Vine, I am the Gate, and many others. But other times Jesus calls us names, like today he is referring to us as "salt" and "light". What is Jesus telling us about us?
Jesus calls us salt because of our preserving ability; we preserve society from going rotten; from going bad; from getting destroyed. Do you remember the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19? Those people could have been saved if there had been just 10 righteous men or Christians in Sodom and Gomorrah; but there were nobody, and the whole city was destroyed. So please don't go bad if and when everybody around you goes or does evil. If at your workplace you see everybody cutting the corners, please, don't follow suit; the presence and the prayers of "salty" Christians preserves and saves the rest from catastrophe.
Do you remember the message of Genesis 50: 20 and the heart of Joseph’s story? Joseph told his brother, "As for you , you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive." His brothers hated him and could not speak peaceably to him . . . they hated him even more . . . they hated him . . . his brothers envied him” (37: 4– 5, 8, 11). "They stripped Joseph of his tunic . . . they took him and cast him into a pit” (vv. 23– 24).
To cut a long story short, Joseph never gave up. Bitterness never staked its claim. Anger never metastasized into hatred. His heart never hardened; his resolve never vanished. He not only survived; he thrived. He ascended like a helium balloon. An Egyptian official promoted him to chief servant. The prison warden placed him over the inmates. And Pharaoh, the highest ruler on the planet, shoulder-tapped Joseph to serve as his prime minister. By the end of his life, Joseph was the second most powerful man of his generation. It is not hyperbole to state that he saved the world from starvation.
This is what means being salt of the earth; it means being the Joseph of today, the Joseph in your place of living; the Joseph that saves the world from starvation and death.
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