Friday, March 12, 2010

Matthew05::You Are Light



Anyone else remember singing that song as a little kid? Or at least singing it to your kids? I remember that my favorite part of that song was getting to yell “No!” when we asked if we were going to hide it under a bushel. I’m not sure I always knew what a bushel was, but I seemed to be a natural at yelling “No!”


In Matthew05, verses 13-16 jumped out at me this morning. I love the translation of The Message here, we are put where we are to be “salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors “ where we are. We are also light that “brings out the God-colors in the world.” What a picture!

Have you ever noticed that the older people get, the less sensitive their taste buds become. I’ve seen elderly people eat with a fork in one hand and salt shaker in the other. There’s a certain rhythm to it. A meal with no salt is still a meal and is still experienced by everyone at the table. Being one of our basic tastes, salt actually enhances the flavor to our taste buds. It’s just better with salt... Darkness hides colors from our sight. When light is shown in darkness, colors are brought out. It doesn’t mean the shirt wasn’t there or that the couch wasn’t brown. Light reveals color that’s already there, much like salt enhances taste that is there. It’s just better with light...


I thought about this in light of our faith this morning. Does our faith bring out the color in the world around us? Does our faith bring out the color in our neighborhoods? In our families? In our kids? Does our faith enhance the workplace where we spend our days? Does our faith bring out the God-flavors in the relationships we have? As much as I want to say yes, the truth is that often times, I’m not sure that it does as much as I think. It’s easy to recall times when someone’s faith has blinded everyone around them, or when a co-worker’s faith made the office taste bitter instead of better. If we are to be the Springs God intends for us to be where we live, work, play and rest, what do you think it means to shine our light where it brings out the God-colors in the world, and share our faith in a way that brings out the God-flavors in others?


You don’t have have salt, you are salt. You don’t have light, you are light.


Thanks for visiting and I look forward to bantering this around today with you.


No comments:

Post a Comment