Seeds for 05/17/2023 - Matthew 5:13-16
Scripture: 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.
Observation: This metaphor couplet is worth observing together because Jesus is using two images to drive at the same point.
In both cases, there’s a pattern. Jesus tells His disciples, “You are the salt of the earth… the light of the world.” Then He conducts a thought experiment imagining the negation of the salt and light.
“But if salt loses its saltiness…” “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl…” What is Jesus’ point?
He’s stoking our imagination in order to provoke the old philosophical question, “What is ___________ for?” In this case, salt and light. What are they for? Salt is for seasoning and preservation. Light is for illumination. They have an essential character (saltiness, luminescence) and a purpose for those qualities.
Verse 16 brings it home, sticking with the light metaphor: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
The purpose for our lives (disciples/students/apprentices of Jesus) to point to the God who created us in His image. The way this happens is when our light—our good deeds—“shine before others.” When His image (His character) is reflected in our lives through our actions, this brings Him glory, and rightly so. That is to say that it points to Him as the Creator of this living work of art called the Christian life.
That’s what Paul was getting at when he explained in Ephesians 2:8-9 that though we are not saved by works (but instead by grace through faith), we are saved for good works. After all, as Paul puts it in verse 10, “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance to do.”
Application:
Do you understand the difference between being saved (reconciled and restored to God) by doing good works versus being saved for good works?
Who have you noticed making an impact because they glorify God through the way they live?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, give me a heart to love your ways and to walk in them. Help me to live in a way that points to your goodness and gives you glory. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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Do you understand the difference between being saved (reconciled and restored to God) by doing good works versus being saved for good works?
It seems to me what you are driving home here is as reconciled and restored Christians, we should be proactive and seek to please God by living a grace filled life doing His good works as a disciple. We do this willingly, consciously and should strive to be an example to others. Passive verses aggressive. We should not passively live and walk in the way of Christ but aggressively pursue His way.