Journeys Through the Word
“Let your good deeds shine out for all to see …”
Verse(s) considered:
Matthew 5:13-16 NLT
(13) “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.
(14) “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.
(15) No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.
(16) In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
Thoughts along the road:
This section comes right after the most famous portion of the Sermon on the Mount, commonly known as the Beatitudes. In the Beatitudes, Jesus takes portions of the moral law that everyone was familiar with and raised the stakes to seemingly impossible heights. We can only live up to those standards when we are fully surrendered to God and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
In this section, he tackles something equally important and that is our witness as we move along the road and become more fully surrendered to God and empowered by the Holy Spirit. If we are surrendered and empowered, we will be the salt of the earth, the light of the world, shining out our good deeds for all to see. This is a continuation of those seemingly impossible standards—but here the effects are somewhat involuntary. Our effect on the earth, our light on the world (hidden or otherwise), and our deeds (good or otherwise) will be broadcast for all to see. Like it or not.
Where to go from here:
What are some ways we can avoid losing our saltiness, hiding our light, or broadcasting something other than good deeds for all to see?
First and foremost. Do not compromise on the truth of the scripture. It says what it says. It is God speaking. Too many people today water it down so that it doesn’t offend people. It ceases to be salty at that point. It ceases to be light at that point.
Then the problem becomes the fact that you are still shining something out, but it is not light. At least not the same type of light that Jesus shines. Reread the first chapter of the Gospel of John:
John 1:5-9 NLT
(5) The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.
(6) God sent a man, John the Baptist,
(7) to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony.
(8) John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light.
(9) The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
We are to be the type of light that reflects Jesus, but if we have compromised his light in an effort to be less offensive to the world, then we are weak, useless light that contains more darkness than light. More lies and error than truth. We have lost our saltiness and are now broadcasting those lies and that error and infecting those weak in their faith with them. Those are not the good deeds that we should shine out for all to see. All they see now is our hypocrisy.
Is that what you want? If not, you had better reexamine your views on scripture and how dearly you cling to the truth of God’s word.
Journeys Through The Word 