THE LIGHT AND THE CITY
Greetings in the name of Jesus:
One of the very first parables from Jesus was found in Matthew 5: 14-16 where He speaks of the light of our lives being hidden or put on a high place so that it could shine all through the land. He compared that to a City that was set on a hill, and how it could be seen from a great distance as people approached it.
This shows us not only an individual responsibility but also a corporate responsibility as a church body to shine as a light of truth in our community. Revelations 21:1-3 speaks of a new City, a Holy City ; the New Jerusalem coming down from Heaven. This will be made up of those who's light will adorn it like a Bride beautifully dressed for her husband. Our light should be shining to show others the way to walk...it should not be forced upon them but simply shown to them in a way that allows them to see the way clearly. This light has a three fold nature to it; Natural, artificial, and Spiritual. 1. The light of the Sun is a natural light, 2. That of a lamp is artificial, 3. The word of God is the Spiritual light for those who trust and believe in it.
The light that Jesus gives does not have a secondary source...it does not reflect an different light but has it's own source. The Moon gives off light , but it is a reflected light from a different source...the Sun. A lamp or a candle is a dark body until it is lighted. Our individual lives are very much the same way. We cannot give off light on our own even in the name of Jesus until we are given the gift of grace and enlightenment from God's Spirit.
When our lives are lighted by God's Spirit we continue to live in this world which has still been unchanged, and it makes it real easy to kind of hide our light under the bushel or the bed. The bushel may represent the business world , and the bed may represent our at ease time or rest and relaxation. These things can easily occupy too much of our time, and start to dim our light Spiritually. We may say that we want to be a light for Jesus, and yet many times that is said in such a vague way that no one around quite knows what it means...In fact we don't know what it really means to us either, and that is why we need to have a commitment made in our lives to increasing that light. If we look closer at the statements that Jesus made about Salt and Light there are two more interesting things we can discover... While light is something that works outside of the body to illuminate the way we walk; Salt works internally with whom ever we may come into contact. We are indeed the light of this world. We are a reflected source of light from God to others, and yet we are so much more because our flavor as salt can change the lifestyle of people who we touch. These things work together to create a complete witness of our lives for Jesus Christ our Lord. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
One of the very first parables from Jesus was found in Matthew 5: 14-16 where He speaks of the light of our lives being hidden or put on a high place so that it could shine all through the land. He compared that to a City that was set on a hill, and how it could be seen from a great distance as people approached it.
This shows us not only an individual responsibility but also a corporate responsibility as a church body to shine as a light of truth in our community. Revelations 21:1-3 speaks of a new City, a Holy City ; the New Jerusalem coming down from Heaven. This will be made up of those who's light will adorn it like a Bride beautifully dressed for her husband. Our light should be shining to show others the way to walk...it should not be forced upon them but simply shown to them in a way that allows them to see the way clearly. This light has a three fold nature to it; Natural, artificial, and Spiritual. 1. The light of the Sun is a natural light, 2. That of a lamp is artificial, 3. The word of God is the Spiritual light for those who trust and believe in it.
The light that Jesus gives does not have a secondary source...it does not reflect an different light but has it's own source. The Moon gives off light , but it is a reflected light from a different source...the Sun. A lamp or a candle is a dark body until it is lighted. Our individual lives are very much the same way. We cannot give off light on our own even in the name of Jesus until we are given the gift of grace and enlightenment from God's Spirit.
When our lives are lighted by God's Spirit we continue to live in this world which has still been unchanged, and it makes it real easy to kind of hide our light under the bushel or the bed. The bushel may represent the business world , and the bed may represent our at ease time or rest and relaxation. These things can easily occupy too much of our time, and start to dim our light Spiritually. We may say that we want to be a light for Jesus, and yet many times that is said in such a vague way that no one around quite knows what it means...In fact we don't know what it really means to us either, and that is why we need to have a commitment made in our lives to increasing that light. If we look closer at the statements that Jesus made about Salt and Light there are two more interesting things we can discover... While light is something that works outside of the body to illuminate the way we walk; Salt works internally with whom ever we may come into contact. We are indeed the light of this world. We are a reflected source of light from God to others, and yet we are so much more because our flavor as salt can change the lifestyle of people who we touch. These things work together to create a complete witness of our lives for Jesus Christ our Lord. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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