You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it give 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 in heaven.
Note that Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is not like the Ten Commandments. There is no law here; no Thou shalts. Rather, Jesus is simply describing reality, so that his hearers might see clearly into the nature of things. Someone has said, "What is, is the great teacher." Jesus is describing what is in the Kingdom, as if the only things needed from us is acknowledgement and vision.
Jesus doesn't say, Thou shalt be poor in spirit. He says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit..." Jesus doesn't say, Thou shalt be salt and light. He says, "You are the salt of the earth... You are the light of the world."
The only danger here, if I read Jesus correctly, is in refusing to be who you are.
A heavy burden? Yeah sometimes. Sometimes not.
ReplyDeleteAs Wes has commented in both a class & a sermon, we sometimes have insulators that prevent us from seeing that we are the light of the world. Maybe it's our comfy lifestyle, or some other part of us that prevents us from experiencing the nearness of God.
ReplyDeleteMy interpretation of these verses is slightly different. I see it as honoring the parts of myself that are good. Most of the time I get so involved in learning the lessons that the dark parts are trying to teach me that I ignore the good parts of myself. Maybe that is why it is hard to accept compliments
ReplyDelete