Blessed
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:13-16
Why don’t Christians do much evangelism? Sorry - maybe you do. But most of us don’t. The answer of course is multi-faceted. But let me suggest one possible aspect to the answer.
Follow Jesus’ thinking from the 8 statements (sometimes called beatitudes) into today’s passage. Christians are blessed if and as they live out the culture of His Kingdom. This looks very different to our world’s version of blessedness.
They should be like salt and light. They should be tasty and shine. It’s crazy that salt would be tasteless. It’s crazy that you would put a light under a bowl. And yet we do so often put our lights under a bowl. Why is that?
Well, could it be because we don’t believe we are more blessed than the people around us? Could it be because we don’t actually think that we have something our friends, family, work colleagues etc. need?
Here is the principle. If we see how blessed we are in Christ - then surely we would desire others to find blessing in Him. What do you think? And what can we do about it?
For Today:
Pray:
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:13-16
Why don’t Christians do much evangelism? Sorry - maybe you do. But most of us don’t. The answer of course is multi-faceted. But let me suggest one possible aspect to the answer.
Follow Jesus’ thinking from the 8 statements (sometimes called beatitudes) into today’s passage. Christians are blessed if and as they live out the culture of His Kingdom. This looks very different to our world’s version of blessedness.
They should be like salt and light. They should be tasty and shine. It’s crazy that salt would be tasteless. It’s crazy that you would put a light under a bowl. And yet we do so often put our lights under a bowl. Why is that?
Well, could it be because we don’t believe we are more blessed than the people around us? Could it be because we don’t actually think that we have something our friends, family, work colleagues etc. need?
Here is the principle. If we see how blessed we are in Christ - then surely we would desire others to find blessing in Him. What do you think? And what can we do about it?
For Today:
- Are you encouraging someone/s to check out Jesus?
- What stops you from talking more about Jesus with non-Christians?
- Write a list of why you are blessed because of Christ (hint: go back to Jesus 8 statements in Matthew 5).
Pray:
- Praise the Father, Son & Spirit that they share their blessedness with us.
- Give thanks for Jesus who endured the curse so that we might be blessed.
- Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others see your blessedness in Him and desire to share it with others.
Posted in Matthew
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