February 17, 2016
My 2016 Lenten Journey: Exploring
the Gospels to discover what following Jesus and becoming more like him would look
like? ‘And I, when I am lifted
up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32 NRSV).
Matthew
5:13-16 (NRSV) “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its
taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything,
but is thrown out and trampled under foot. 14“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill
cannot be hid. 15No one after lighting a lamp puts it
under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the
house. 16In the same way, let your light
shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to
your Father in heaven.
Jesus
isn’t commanding us to be salt or light. He is describing who we are, if we are
his followers. We are salt. We are light. The only question is (1)
whether we’ve “lost our taste,” or (2) whether we’ve hidden our light. I think
there’s a third factor in the equation. We are light; but we choose the source
we reflect or radiate.
I
remember a preacher once saying, show me your checkbook and I’ll tell you what
is important to you. I can spend time with your kids and tell a lot about you.
We are light.
Do
I reflect Jesus, or do I reflect the materialistic values of a culture in which
“image is everything?”
“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9 NRSV)
“And I, when I am lifted up from the
earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32 NRSV).
That's the
way it looks through the flawed glass that is my world view.
Together in the Walk,
Jim
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