Stay Lit
With an attempt to gather some data and survey people, several weeks ago I posted a question on my Instagram Story to see people’s response to a certain question. That question was, “What do you think is the biggest objection people have towards Christianity?” In other words, what do you think people struggle with the most when it comes to Christians or believing in Christianity?
Several people responded to the question and there was definitely a wide range of responses, but BY FAR the biggest response was that Christians are hypocritical, meaning they say one thing, but practice or show something thats contrary to what they say they believe in. Here’s what that tells me: As Christians, people are listening to us and people are watching us. What are they seeing? What are they hearing? And does that match with what we are saying that we believe in?
Often times it may feel hard to be a Christian because maybe we feel like we have to “put on” a performance everyday to the people around us. Yet what Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount isn’t something we have to do but something that we ARE as Christians.
This weekend as we continue our series through the Sermon on the Mount, we see Jesus shifting from an inward focus to an outward focus and our relationship with other people. Check out what Jesus says:
"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under peoples feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Not do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven."
Matthew 5:13-16
This is a passage that I’ve read multiple times, but every time we read God’s Word, He’s got something for us. This time around the phrase that stuck out to me was, “That they may see…”
Going back to what I said earlier, Christians are being watched and listened to by this culture, especially in the social media world. And so often, we are seen as hypocritical, as hateful, single minded, fill in the blank… maybe that’s because people only know us by what we say rather then by what we show. Or if we are known by what we show, it might be seen from a different perspective due to the many Christians that show something contrary to what we believe in.
When people see YOU, what do they see? When people see you, what are you pointing them to? Being the salt and light is not just about pointing people to our beliefs but rather about pointing people to our Savior. The great thing about all this is we can take the pressure off of ourselves to feel like we have to put on a performance because being the salt and light is not something we put on, it’s who we are. Being the salt and light is a reflection of our understandings of the inward attitudes that now focus to the outward expressions of our relationship with others. It’s our identity as Christians.
Here’s the challenge : How can you be the salt and light to someone this week for the purpose of showing them Jesus? Not for the purpose of trying to convert someone. Not for the purpose of personal gain. It’s just about loving people to show them Jesus.
Danny