The Salt & Light Snowblower

Several years ago, Ned bought a new snow blower, which is a necessity for the snowy winters of Minnesota.  Previously he had always shoveled his driveway and it took over an hour.  But now, with that beautiful machine, he could get it done in less than five minutes.  The ease of snow-blowing took away the all-too familiar dread of having to shovel.  He even enjoyed doing the drive.

The second winter he had the blower, two elderly neighbors from California moved in across the street.  The couple both had heart problems and Ned noticed them struggling to shovel the drive after the first snow fall.  When he saw them wrestling with the snow, he simply started his blower, pushed it across the street, and did their's too.  It just became a part of the routine; twelve minutes for both drives.  Ned then also remembered that his other neighbor, Mike, left for work at 4:30 in the morning, so he bagan doing his too.  Another four minutes.

A few years later, his next door neighbor, Larry, passed away.  Because his widowed wife, Pearl, was also elderly, Ned just started doing hers too.  Another five minutes.  Later that same year, the neighbors down the block had a baby, so Ned added their's to his routine too.  By the end of that year, Ned was snow blowing about a half hour and doing five driveways.

Ned was happy to be the neighborhood plowman, relishing in the joy of caring for and serving his community.  One night, though, he fell deathly ill and had to be taken to the hospital.  Over the course of a two day bed-ridden, hospital stay he recovered and was eventually released.  As his wife was driving him home, he felt so bad because there had been a huge snowfall the night before.

However, as they arrived back in the neighborhood, he was astonished to see that all of the driveways were done.  To his amazement, Ned's wife told him that in the morning she looked out the front window to see one of their other neighbors, whom they had never even met, doing the driveways.  Ned nearly broke into tears. He never realized the affect that he had made over the past few years.

The point is example.  If we are to be the salt and light of the world, the very hands and feet of Christ, then we need to look at the needs around us and step in to fill them.  Jesus calls us to love as He loves us.  Think of that: He gave His very life, dying upon the cross to serve and to love all humankind.  Laying down our preference and our comfort in order to care for others is what being a Christian is all about.  Therefore, let us seek out opportunities to serve and then seize them for Him!

Doing the Will of Christ

The nature of the Christian life is one of devotion, of diligence, and of pursuit.  But above all else, the Christian life is a matter of practice.  Christians are called to be doers of the Word (James 1:22-23; 2:23-25).  If Christians would take to this task seriously, we would see far more fruit-bearing, Word-living, people-loving Christians.

Jesus says, quite directly, that it is not the hearers of the Word who will be blessed, but the doers (Matt. 7:24-27).  This should compel us to eschew simple indoctrination and to pursue living out the teachings of Christ.

Peter writes that Jesus has become our example (1 Pet. 2:21).  What is an example that isn't emulated.  In order for Jesus to actually be our example, we need to be doing what He taught.  This is an active ordeal.  Quite plainly, if we are not doing what Jesus has emulated, then we are not being obedient.  Thus, if we claim to be Christians we need to be doing the Word of Christ, actually fulfilling Christ's commandments within our lives.  

This is what planting the Word in our hearts is all about; this is what  growing fruit is all about; this is what abiding in Him is all about.  If, then, we who claim Christ are to grow in obedience we must be willing and committed to doing the Will of Christ.  Let us then commit to becoming doers of the Word who live out the teachings of the Word in word and deed!

Waking Up to God

Sometimes the warm cocoon of bedding is nearly impossible to leave.  When the alarm clock rings its obnoxious clatter in a concerted effort to either wake me up or just make me angry.  Often times it feels more like the latter, and I would rather just stay in bed, holed up against the world hidden behind a covering of blanketed bliss.  Unfortunately, as much as any of us would prefer to remain cuddled in a cocoon of covers, life persistently calls us to crawl out and meet the day.

This seems a most appropriate metaphor for belief.  Though we would rather hang around in the coma of comfort behind the veil of sinful slumber, God beckons the unbeliever to leave their state of eternal night and to step into the eternal light of His glory.  The fleshly, natural self is asleep (dead) to God because of sin.  But God calls for us to awaken.

Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, speaks to this regard.  He paraphrases Isaiah, "Awake, O Sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine upon you (Eph. 5:14)."  This is fundamental.  God desires to light our lives, to illuminate us with the glory of His majesty.  However, unless we, by faith, crawl out of our comatose cocoons of sinful slumber, we will be ever-unable to receive Him.

In a sense, we have an advocating heavenly alarm clock in the Holy Spirit who is ringing in an effort to prompt us to awaken from our sin.  And, like being awoken in the morning, we have a choice to make: will we either hit the snooze and pull the covers of unbelief over our heads to sleep for all eternity in hell, or will we heed to the prompting of God and awake to meet His day and His light?  These are the two choices, and they have everlasting consequences.  We should be compelled to awaken so as to embrace the day that the Lord has made, which is belief in the Son, Christ Jesus.

A brief note is in order for those who have already chosen the latter.  For those of who have already made our choice to awake from our sinful slumbers and to leave the ignorant envelop of our walking death, there is a sincere and distinct task to wake up those who are still asleep.  It is our obligation to the world to, by the empowering of the Holy Spirit, announce that the day has come in Christ Jesus and that everyone should be made awake in order to leave the darkness of death and to live in the light of the Lord.  Let us then take seriously the call to awaken to the Lord and to wake others up too!

Cutting through Masks

A business man wears a nice, pressed suit and carries a brief case, chatting over dividends and commissions over a cocktail.  A chef talks about courses and recipes while walking around in his chef jacket holding stockpots and spatulas.  Nearly every profession or sect of humanity has its unique traits and characteristics.  This lingo and dress make people groups recognizable but they can quickly descend into stereotypes.

Unfortunately, Christianity is not without its stereotypes and lingo, making it possible to pretend to be a believer when one's heart may be far away.  For instance, a "churched" person could attend services regularly, say "Amen" when the preacher prompts, offer platitudes for surface relationships, all while keeping real devotion and sincere fellowship just outside of arms length: a mask.  This is the grave reality.  These would-be nominal Christians of the lukewarm variety, akin to the Laodicean Church, are useful only to be spat out by our Lord for their indefinite indifference (Rev. 3:14-22).  

Needless to say, this is a sobering reality that should prompt us to assessment.  Just because you quack and waddle does not make a duck, just like going to church and saying the right things and having bumper-sticker fish doesn't equate to real, transformational faith in Jesus.  God desires so much more than merely going through the motions.  To be sure, God wants everything, body, mind, heart, and soul (Matt. 22:37).  Walking and talking like a Christian is dreadfully easy when in the right crowds, making it difficult to cut through the masks.  The real question to ask then is: who are we when we are alone?

Cutting through the masks that people wear is about understanding that God requires all of a person.  Devotion is a matter of heart content, not externals.  This was the very same issue that plagued the pious first-century religious leaders that crucified Jesus.  They thought that holiness was about the externals to the effect that they neglected the hardness of their own hearts.  Instead, God desires us to love Him from the depths of our being.  In this, we will be in relationship with Him, the only true path to righteousness. This is how we remove the masks in order to be His.

Moreover, Jesus asserts that out of the heart come external defilement (Mark 7:15, 21; 15:19).  It is not enough to say the right things and consistently go to the right building on the right day of the week.  The only thing that makes a Christian a Christian is true and sincere devotion to Christ.  Salvation is a personal ordeal.  We are not born into it and we get no credit for the belief of those around us.  Therefore, let us take off our masks before the Holy Lord so as to be made truly and only His!

Effective Evangelism

Matthew's Gospel ends with Jesus' final words of commissioning for the disciples and for future Christians to go and to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that Jesus has commanded them (Matt. 28:18-20; see also Mark 16:15-16).  This is one of the most direct references that Jesus made in reference to His commandment for Christians to evangelize.

Many believers never take their Christianity outside the doors of their church.  This is not what Jesus asks of us.  If we Jesus' commissioning seriously, then we will evangelize.  More directly, if we do not evangelize, we are acting in disobedience because those who wish to belong to Jesus must adhere to His commandments (John 15).

But what does this mean in regards to evangelism?  Many devout believers respond to Jesus call to evangelism with an air of derision or a tinge of doubt.  The question then to ask is what stands at the irreducible core of evangelism: love, more specifically, the love of God through Jesus.  Evangelism is all about transmitting the love of God, supremely expressed in the life and work of Jesus, to unbelievers.

Because evangelism is truly about love, proselytizing requires sincere relationship.  Evangelism takes more than simply handing out tracts and explaining the gospel.  Instead, investing in relationships with love and sincerity overtime to build up relational equity and credibility stands at the heart of evangelism.

The truth is that all believers are required to evangelize, meaning that all of us our called to express the love of Jesus to people.  Living the love of God out is the key to affective evangelism; however, at some point our actions have to be met with sincere preaching the Word of God, which is Christ crucified.  The preaching of the Word is paramount to evangelism.  If we do not vocalize the love that we express, the connection between the two might be overlooked or wholly neglected.  Let us then press on the walk the walk and to talk the talk of evangelism!

Training Our Thoughts

Compartmentalizing a person into the various parts that make up a human in order to understand each segment separately can be a useful practice.  God exhorts us to love Him with all of our mind, body, and soul, with all strength (Matt. 22:37).  This compels us to love the Lord with each part.  As per this dialogue, the mind is the focus.  The Bible actually has much to say in regards to the mind.

Of all the places of privacy, none is more enclosed and protected than our minds.  For many, the mind is like a locked bank vault with bookshelves full of intellect and memories, beakers and vials of emotional tonics, and an arm wrestling table in the middle of the room where the id and ego settle their differences.  Although this caricature is ridiculous, the reality is that we think of our minds as both the most secure place while simultaneously the most susceptible to weakness.

It is pertinent to remember that God, being omniscient, knows our very thoughts.  In fact, Paul urges us to "Be transformed by the renewal of our minds (Rom. 12:2)."  This is instep with Jesus' teaching during the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7), as He amplifies the commandments of the OT to include thoughts themselves.  In this way, God reminds believers that we are held accountable for the content of our minds.

This is more than challenging.  No one has enough mental fortitude or strength of will to keep their minds clear sin and/or ill thought.  The Psalmist confirms this reality, "The Lord knows the thoughts of man; He knows they are futile (Ps. 94:11)."  This is the point: apart from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, no one is able in the slightest to keep their mind pure and holy.

Recognizing that the Holy Spirit overpowers our minds when we remove the hindrance of personal control, we will be able to live transformed lives the way God desires of us (Rom. 8:6).  Although there are a number of methods to keep ourselves aligned to the will of the Lord, Paul presents one in particular that is exceptional for its simplicity: "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ  (2 Cor. 10:5)."  This requires an active focus to ensure that any thought that passes or lingers in our minds is weighed in the light of Christ.

In reality, our minds are locked vaults full of sinfully crude and vile thoughts.  Fortunately, the Lord not only has the key, which is faith in His Son, but He also has the moving company, the Holy Spirit and His Word, to clean out the junk of our minds and replace it with His holiness and divine will.  The renewal of our minds by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a huge part of the sanctification process and we have an active role to play.  Let us then work hard to rely on the Holy Spirit to renew our minds to make us more like Him!

Salt & Light

In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7), Jesus reveals to those present and to future readers about the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven.  The sermon is the first of five of Jesus' discourses in Matthew.  He begin with the well-known beatitudes before offering His expert interpretation of the OT in lieu of His life's fulfillment of the Law and Prophecy.  But before He gets into the individual amplifications of the laws, He says, in obviously figurative language, that believers are the salt of the earth and light of the world (Matt. 5:13-16).

This can be a challenging teaching and must have been difficult for the disciples and crowd that was present, but it has to do with two basic but simultaneous things: how believers relate to the world, and how believers express the Lord in their lives.  For the former, we are salt.  In the latter, we are light.  Although this language may be difficult, after some examination the meaning may become more clear.

Salt, in the ancient world, was a useful substance.  It's primary purpose was as a seasoning and preservative.  Because of these known uses, it is reasonable to say that believers are to season and preserve the earth.  In a direct sense, this means that believers serve the function of caring and stewarding God's creation.  Salt can also have negative connotations, if it is used without reason, in the case of overconsumption, it can cause sickness.  Or as a weapon, in the case of Hannibal salting fields, salt can be dangerous.

However difficult the figurative use of salt may be, light seems to make clearer sense.  Light is a direct tie into the Lord, for the Lord is the Lord of light and of life.  Scripture is unified and thorough in describing the Lord as a God of illumination.  In effect, believers are the light of world, meaning that we are the physical presence of the Lord on this worldly plain.  This is of remarkable significance for believers both in identity and in application.

Jesus ends this particular section with an exhortative statement: "let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works, and give glory to your Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:16).  This statement is a clear indication of the manner that believers are to relate to the world and to the purpose of acts of worship in the world.  Believers are to live out the love of God in action and in service so as to point unbelievers to the Lord by their very lives.  Let us the press forward to live as salt and light to the world!

Discipleship's Cost

There is a distinct and clear cost to following Jesus.  Throughout the New Testament, the price of being a disciple of Christ is simple but stiff: everything.  Devotion to Christ requires that we lay everything down before the Lord.  This is inline with the greatest commandment, which commands us to devote every part of ourselves to the Lord in worship and devotion.

Scripture presents numerous examples of believers paying the price of discipleship.  For starters, there is Abraham.  The Lord called Abram to pick up his whole life and leave his homeland for a promise (Gen. 11:1-3).  Abram simply laid down his previous life for the promises of God.  Or consider Abraham's ordeal in regards to Isaac.  Abraham and Sarah had been barren for several decades, waiting for God to fulfill His promises of descendants.  Yet when God did finally bless the couple with Isaac, the Lord asked Abraham to sacrifice him.  And Abraham proved himself obedient to the cost of discipleship and was blessed for his faithfulness.

Another example is the calling of the disciples by Jesus (Matt. 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20; Lk. 5:2-11).  All of the accounts are remarkable.  Jesus simply calls the disciples to come and they, like Abram, pick up everything and follow the Lord.  They were successful self-employed business men that laid down it all to follow Jesus.  As Peter declares, "we've left everything to follow you (Lk. 14:26).

The other pertinent example of this is Saul, who becomes Paul after he lays down everything for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus.  Saul was a Hebrew of Hebrews, on the fast track to the Jewish religious elite (Phil. 3:4-6).  Saul had created a life to be envied, yet when the Lord Jesus called him, he cast it all aside.  This is the true cost: giving everything up for the sake of relationship to the Lord Almighty. Paul is quick to assert that he counts everything lost as a gain because of the immeasurable riches of gain the Lord (Phil. 3:7).

Scripture is unified in this regard.  Discipleship costs believers their very lives.  Practically speaking, believers are to take all of their lives, everything, and to devote it to the Lord.  In this, God sanctifies our past experiences, good and bad, for His purposes.  This is what is described by the concept of daily picking up your cross and denying yourself to follow Jesus (Lk. 9:23).

Ultimately, Jesus is the Suffering Servant who served the world through His very death.  If we are to be His followers, it makes logical sense that we will acquiesce to the same fate as His.  In a real way, this means that we will relinquish every part of our selves for the purposes and will of the Lord.  Truly, the cost of discipleship is high but the resulting relationship with the Lord far outweighs the cost.  Let us then press forward to live lives of servanthood that mirrors the life our Savior lived!