We aren’t to be pure for the sake of purity or different for the sake of being different July 14, 2007
Posted by reformedville in : Theology , trackbackHow are we to live in the world as followers of Jesus Christ? The question has been answered in a variety of different ways: some see our role as prophets condemning the surrounding culture and calling it to repent, others see us as the culture’s priests performing its religious ceremonies and being there to comfort and encourage in times of distress, still others see our aim as taking charge of the culture and seeking to capture the instruments of government and power in order legislate the law of God as the law of the land. Certainly an argument can be made for aspects of each of these views, while examples – both positive and negative – could be presented to support or critique each view.
At the end of the beatitudes, Jesus warns us that following him may be hazardous to our health: “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account” (5:11-12). If we are likely to experience rejection from time to time as we follow Jesus, if we could even have our reputations damaged by those who oppose God’s kingdom, isn’t it wise to keep a low profile, simply to do our work?
Jesus provides two pictures of what is to be our place in the midst of the cultures that surround us, of what it means for us to be in the world but not of the world. This morning we will focus on four lessons that emerge as we reflect upon these two linked pictures of the Christian as salt and as light.
Salt is salt, light is light. Not everything is salt or light. For salt to be salt, it must not lose its savor, and for light to be light it must be seen. Salt is extremely stable but it loses its savor by being polluted with other substances. Light is of no use if it is hidden, like a light covered with a bushel. So, too, we must be what we are meant to be: God’s people, shining, flavorful, unpolluted. The reason that the church has so little affect at present upon our culture is that we have lost our distinctiveness: in our desire to be relevant, we have become too much like the world. But God means for us to be a distinct picture of his coming kingdom in the midst of this present age.
We aren’t to be pure for the sake of purity or different for the sake of being different. Jesus does not call us the salt of heaven or the light of heaven. We are the salt of the earth, the light of the world. In other words, we are to be distinct – not for our own sake, not for the simple sake of remaining pure, but because the world needs us to remain pure, to be what we are meant to be. We are to be distinct and different from the world for the sake of the world around us. So, then, why these specific examples of salt and light?
Salt cleanses and aids in the debridement of dead tissue, just as salt helps preserve meat and even serves as a spice in bringing out the flavor of food. It can be caustic – it burns if placed in a wound, yet it helps the healing process. We, too, are too preserve, cleanse and yet enhance the flavor of the culture.
Darkness is not a substance, but rather the absence of light. We don’t darken a room by increasing the amount of darkness in the room, but by extinguishing the light. Banishing darkness does not involve searching out the darkness, collecting it and removing it. It is as simple as turning on a light. Light banishes darkness, because darkness is merely the absence of light. So, too, the world can only be dark if the light is not present or has hidden itself. In the presence of light, darkness disappears. Jesus, who is the light of the world, says to us across the centuries what he said to those first disciples: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden… let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (5:14f).
“Do not love the world – the lust of the flesh and the eye and the pride of life” (1 John 2:15-17), but rather do you love it as God so loved the world that he sent his Son to redeem it? That is what we are to be about: Your life and mine are to be part of the great drama of God’s setting the world free from bondage to sin and death and opening the way to new life in Christ. This should be behind our decisions as individuals and families and as a community of faith. You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. Let His light shine in your home, in your neighborhood, at work, at school and at play so that people will see your life and glorify your Father in heaven.
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