I bought a book last Sunday from church when a Taiwanese pastor came to preach. He published a book when loosely translated from Chinese, is something like "Truth without Logic". It is a compilations of verses from the 4 gospels and extracting key verses which Jesus spoke, accompanied with his commentaries.
I came across one of his commentaries where he referred to the book of Matthew. This was the verse he quoted.
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?......You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden."
Matthew 5:13-14
Pastor Liu the brought out a point which I found to be highly valid. He was commenting like how many Christians find it very difficult to "Be" the "Salt and Light" of the world. Many Christians try very hard to lead out a Christian life. They make sure that they go to Church every Sunday. They make deliberate efforts to do this and not to do that. They try very hard to put up a "Christ-like" front to the people around them. Yet, many a times, they find themselves failing, resulting in them feeling dejected and dry.
Why is it so hard to be the salt and light of this world? Why is it that Jesus impose upon us a task that seems so impossible?
The end result is back sliding and in some cases, total rejection of God.
So what's the problem here?
Pastor Liu very correctly pointed out that Jesus did not ask us to "Be" the "salt and light" of this world. Rather, He said, "You ARE" the "Salt and Light" of this world. Jesus was talking to His disciples then, telling them that they ARE the SALT and LIGHT of this world. A true disciple is one that truly follows the way and commands of Jesus.
Thus, when Jesus says "You ARE", it means it is something that comes very naturally. It should not be something so difficult to acheive because His ture disciples ARE already the SALT and LIGHT of this world. Rather than BE the salt and light, the true disciples ARE already the salt and light.
So, we shouldn't be trying to be the salt and light. It is not something that happens from outside in. Meaning our outward actions cannot change who we are really inside. Our consciencious efforts on the outside can never bring about change within us as the motivation isn't correct. Rather, it should happen from inside out. Christians need to change completely, starting from the inside. It is our inner self that controls our outward being. We need to start by humbling our hearts and seeking God's work within us.
Throw a carrot and a coffee bean into boiling water and they both have different effects. The carrot will simply soften and if you boil long enough, it'll simply disintegrate. The coffee bean on the other hand, will change the aroma and colour of the water into a nice blend of coffee.. Simply said, do you want to be a carrot, that lacks any substance within itself to affect its surroundings or would you want to be a coffee bean, which even under intense heat, is able to change and affect its surroundings with its substance effectively?
Many Christians make the mistake of focusing on outwardly change of their personal being. They act kindly in front of people only to find it unable to last because they lack the unconditional love that comes from within. They try to resist the temptation of materialism only to find that time and time again, excuses pop up to justify their materialistic needs. What we need to realize is that we have to get the sequence right. Complete change cannot come from the outside because our actions and deeds are unable to have any effect on our inner self. Rather, complete change must come from within, from our soul and our spirit. We must correct our corrupted belief system, which simply defines who we are. A person cannot defy his own definition. Only by repairing his own definition will he be able to redefine his own actions. Only then will his actions be genuinely justified by his belief system.
Bearing in mind all these, it makes more sense to see why Jesus says YOU ARE "THE SALT AND LIGHT" of this world rather than saying BE "THE SALT AND LIGHT" of this world. If we truly believe in Jesus and His salvation, truly repenting, humbling and submitting ourselves before Him as the LORD of our lives, only then can we be redefined as true disciples of Jesus Christ. With that, we no longer need to BE "THE SALT AND LIGHT" of the world. We will be called His true disciples and we ARE "THE SALT AND LIGHT" of this world.
All Glory to God Almighty. Amen.
Continuation from part 2.
Continuation from part 1.
I am so impressed and touched by these kids. I can help but feel so lucky to be where I am today. By God's grace He has made me who I am.
Compared to them, the problems that Singapore students face pales in comparison. Really, be grateful that we have such wonderful education in Singapore.
I'll work even harder now.
This song has reminded once again what He intends for me.
I want to shed this life of selfishness LORD. I want to stop living for myself. Greater things are to be done LORD. Use me not for my glory but yours alone. So many more out there needs You LORD! Use me LORD...
Grant me the strength, courage and wisdom to achieve what You have intended for me. Every step I've taken in my life is intended for that one single purposes. Let me not lose the heart for it.
Use me LORD...
Use me.
I can't believed I actually flared up for the most stupid reason. It was so childish. The worst thing is, I flared up at the person who loved me the most. My mum.
I don't know why did I do it. It was just a build up of unpleasant emotions and unwanted distractions. Sometimes, I think I take my mum for granted. She loves and cares for me so much, yet how did I treat her. I just taught my sunday school class about honouring your father and mother and here we have a negative example.
I just felt so weak after flaring up. I hate flaring up. It is just a sign of weakness. Contrary to common belief, flaring up is not a sign of strength but rather the feeling of vulnerability. It is the desperate need to be defend one's weakness when one finally breaks out in anger.
I am so selfish. I always care about my own emotions and neglect the feelings of others. This is especially so to the people that are close to me. I really hate myself for doing it. Really hate it. These are the times where you really feel like punishing yourself and hopefully the pain of punishment will remove the intense guilt in you.
But I am just not going to do that.
I've fallen in to Satan's first trap. Not going to fall into the second one.
The hardest thing to do is to say "I'm sorry." There is not one time whereby I can say sorry without any resistance. Satan hates these words and he'll go all out to prevent us from saying them.
But I'll do just that.
Help me out here LORD.