WATCHWORD:
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. James 2:14-17
Meditation:
Keystones of Our Faith
When we consider our faith, and why we believe as we do, what would you say are important events or elements that caused you to strengthen your belief that Jesus is Messiah, Lord, and Savior? I suspect that many of us would answer that the most important event was the resurrection, our belief that Jesus was crucified on a cross, died, was buried, and on the third day He was raised to life and, subsequently, was seen by hundreds of people. I believe that is true and is the center-most element of my faith.
Someone may say, that is all well and good, but how would I know you’re a follower of Christ?? That question brings us to the heart of how Jesus equips us. In the sermon on the mount, and related passages, we are given encouragement that gives direction for us as Christians. I call them Keystones, they are Jesus’ way of describing the heart of a disciple.
- You are the salt of the earth … but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. Matthew 5:13
Jesus loved using everyday examples to communicate truths about God, his people, and the role that a disciple plays in being the ‘salt of the earth’. To this day, people use the phrase to describe a good, honest, humble, and helpful person: they are “The salt of the earth.”
When Jesus tells us we are the salt of the Earth he’s telling us far more than we might think. The people who first heard Jesus say this would have thought about it quite differently. Back then salt was an extremely valuable substance; they used it as a preservative, as a rate of exchange, and, at times, Roman soldiers were paid in salt rations. That is where our word, ‘salary’ comes from. So to be told that we are the salt of the Earth, Jesus is saying that we are very valuable and useful and the world needs us to carry His Word..
- You are the light of the world … A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its strand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. Matt 5:14-15
Jesus compared his followers to ‘the Light of the World’, saying that if you and I, and the disciples, are that Light and truly shine, it would be impossible to hid the fact that we are followers of Christ. Christ’s words and actions show the true nature of the world around him as well as well as the world around us. When we walk in Christ’s steps we give light to those around us by doing and seeing what Jesus has told us. By growing in relationship with Jesus every day we partner with him in spreading the truth of the gospel. We’re not ministers necessarily but sometimes our very lives are a demonstration of how close we walk with the Lord. John said if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his son, purifies us from all sinfulness. It’s a large order but when we walk with him the burden is light.
- To all that received him as Lord and Savior … He gave the right to become … children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor human decision, but born of God. John 1:12-13.
Let me try this, the more we are assured of God’s love, and we act it out in our lives, then the more we are filled with joy, and the more we are able to pour it out to others. We magnify the glory of God wherever we live it. We know that God’s love changes us. The more we understand God’s love for us the more we change. That change is often most pronounced with the decision to accept Christ as Lord and Savior, and started our journey with him. One Christmas, after my wife and I had come to Jesus as Lord, one of our children asked us, ‘what has happened to you, you are different…and we love it!’ That’s the best kind of endorsement of the work that the Lord does in our lives when we walk with him. We are the children of God.
- Now if we are God’s children … Then we are God’s heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if we indeed we share in his suffering in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:17
I’m not at all sure how to fully understand this. The whole of Romans chapter 8 is the most powerful single chapter in the Bible and I think it’s hard for us to grasp the idea of sharing Jesus’ suffering, let alone being His heirs. Paul describes our position in Christ as God’s children. He warns us that we owe nothing to those old lives of ours that we lived on earth. In Christ, that is not who we are since we are led by God’s Holy Spirit, we are God’s children. If we back up to verse 15, we are told that we have been given a Spirit of adoption that allows us to call God Father, Abba! Our task, then, and it is not an easy one, is to believe, truly believe, and live life in the power of that belief. The transformation of our lives depends on it.
- If anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation … The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of forgiveness. 2 Corinthians 5:17-18
I see this passage as Paul’s personal testimony. He was transformed, radically, by God into the Apostle Paul, and this has changed his eye-sight, how he views man, not from the outside, but inside his heart. The old has gone, away, never to be considered or remembered. Think about that. How much garbage from the past, before you accepted Christ, do you still carry in your remembrances, that cause you worry, even now? Don’t you know we are a new creation … in Christ? We are forgiven, and we are to forgive.
So, get your act together. You are a new creation. You are salt and light! You are God’s child, and God’s heir. Shape up! Act like it, and share it with others. That is our task, that’s our mission, that’s our purpose. Amen.
Closing Prayer:
Lord Jesus, this is a big order, being Salt and Light. I’m not so sure I’m prepared for this. But you did not give me a timid spirit, you gave me a boldness. Take away any doubt I have and strengthen me so that I can go fourth and proclaim that I am a child of God, that I am an heir to the Almighty. Help me to stand strong and know that I am a new creation, and I carry no baggage from the past. In your name, in your Holy name, Jesus, I pray. Amen
