SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/29/2020 9:08 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-2 “Being
Light”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matt. 5:14
Message of the verse: “14 “You are the
light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;’”
God’s
people are to follow the example of why Jesus came to earth to do as seen in
Luke 1:79 “TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH, To
guide our feet into the way of peace.’”
Jesus Christ is the true light and all believers are His
reflection. MacArthur states “He is the
Sun and we are His moons. A free
rendering of 2 Corinthians 4:6 could be, ‘God, who first ordered the light to
shine in the darkness, has flooded our hearts with His light. We now can enlighten men only because we can
give them knowledge of the glory of God as we have seen it in the face of Jesus
Christ.’ God sheds His light on the world
through those who have received His light through Jesus Christ.”
The
Jewish people had long claimed to have God’s light, as God had long called them
to be His light, however because they had ignored and rejected His light, they
could not be His light. The Jews were
confident that they were guides “to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,”
However Paul told them that they were blind guides and lamps without light.” Let us look at Romans 2:17-21 focusing in on
verses 19-22 “17 But if you bear the name "Jew" and rely upon the Law
and boast in God, 18 and know His
will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the
Law, 19 and are confident that you yourself are a guide
to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the
immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, 21 you, therefore, who teach another, do you not
teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? 22 You who say that one should not commit
adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?” As believers we are to prove ourselves “so
that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the
midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in
the world” (Phil. 2:15).
I
think that you will agree that by its nature and also by definition light must
be visible in order to illuminate. In
the same way Christians must be more than the largely indirect influence of
salt; as they must also be the direct and noticeable instruments of light.
As
we move onto looking at verse fifteen we can learn that both in the daytime and
also at night, “a city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” That city is exposed for all to see. MacArthur writes that “By day its houses and
buildings stand out on the landscape, and at night the many lights shining out of
its windows make it impossible to miss.
A secret Christian is as incongruous as a hidden light. Lights are to illuminate not to be hidden; to
be displayed, not to be covered.
Christians are to be both subtle salt and conspicuous light.”
Let
us look at John 1:9 “There was the true Light which, coming into the world,
enlightens every man.” This verse helps
us understand that God did not give the gospel of His Son to be the secret,
hidden treasure of a few but He gave Him to enlighten every persons as this
verse tells us. The problem is that many
reject the Light and those who are telling people about the Light. God has offered His Light to the world and so
the church must give out the light to the entire world. The gospel is not our gospel but it is God’s
and He gives it to us not only for our own sakes but also for the entire world.
As true believers we have learned that we are salt and light and we must
fulfill that identity.
6/29/2020 9:36 AM
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