Qualities of a Christian (Part 2)

Introduction

Last week we introduced the three part series we are going through in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. Last week we covered the beatitudes as a measurement by which to compare ourselves and find our areas we need to grow. We talked about how if we put the ten commandments on one side and these beatitudes on the others we find them both equally important which the beatitudes taking us into how conduct ourselves around others. This week is a continuation of this same process. Today we are talking about salt and light and following the will of God or being righteous.

Salt

How many of you like your salt in your food? Have some of you had to remove or reduce the salt in your diet? Did the food you used to enjoy or like all of a sudden become bland? Of course it did. Did a food you love all of a sudden become a food you don’t like any more?

Salt in this context of this passage is talking about either following God’s ways or losing our salt and following the worlds ways. Christians have two sets of influences happening all around them every day. We are called to be set apart, that is to be holy. We are salty Christians when we embrace and follow Jesus’ ways he taught and calls us to be like.

Are we compassionate for others or greedy and selfish? Jesus is compassionate and this is shown through the actions and words. Christians when they love others through both words and actions show their saltiness, their effectiveness at being set apart from the worldly ways that pull us away from God.

Jesus says here what is are those that have lost their saltiness. They are worthless for being the hands and feet Jesus calls us to be. If you think you can be a disciples of Jesus and still follow wordly ways, you are of no use to Jesus. This is trying to claim in word you are a disciple while living a different way that shows you are not.

When you call yourself a Christian yet demonstrate to others that you do and say the same thing as other wordly people then you also teach others that is what Christians are like so you are least in the kingdom of heaven. Pause and let that sink in. When you demonstrate worldly behaviors to Christians and non-Christians alike, you are teaching them that it is fine to keep following worldly ways which Jesus has no use for and you are least in the kingdom.

Whether you like it or not, whether you think it unfair or not, you are demonstrating the saltiness of Christians, that is demonstrating to others what Christians should be like. It is not enough to simply identify yourself as a Christian and think that is good enough. You are called to be salt. You are called to make a positive difference in this place. You are called to be set apart from worldly ways and demonstrating God’s ways to the world.

Light

The other half of our passage talks about the light. I don’t know if you hav

e the same fascination with light that I do. There are so many options today when it comes to light. There are different types of light bulbs which produce different types of light. Even better, you can get different colored lights, or even cooler than that, they have these led light bulbs or light strips that let you change the color of the light to whatever you want it to be. It is interesting in the sense that there is only one light that is considered pure light. All others are lower on the spectrum. This pure light is what exposes the true color of something, allows you to see something for what it truly is. It does not distort or discolor what is revealed by it.

How many of you have looked at an article of clothing and thought it was one color but when you got outside or in a different light, it was not what you thought it was? I get frustrated occasionally because I am trying to determine whether something is dark blue or black and in a fluorescent light they look almost identical to me. I think we can all relate to such an experience.

Jesus is also talking about Christians should be putting forth a pure light too. When people see you, do they see the pure thoughts and pure love of Christ? Do they feel exposed to Christ by being around you? Or are they experiencing a distorted or discolored version of Christ you put off by your words and actions?

Do you hunger and thirst after following God’s will or do you hunger and thirst after your own? Are your thoughts pure or do you have distorted views of God or others that discolor them to those around you?

Just as with salt, how people see Christ through you matters. Your light exposes what is in you. When allowing God to motivate you, to move you to words and actions that Christ would encourage, you expose the falsity of the worldly ways that leave people used up and broken down. When you have a love and compassion for people because Christ has a love and compassion for people, that shows and people want that kind of light inside them too.

When I think of the different colors of light we can make, they can elicit different responses, emotions or feeling when being around these different colored lights. When you are in a red light, do you sometimes feel like things are still too dark to see? Or as psychologist point out, it can bring out an angry feeling. When you see red, you may identify that with being angry. Are Christians angry? Are they emanating red light or pure light? What about a yellow light? When I see yellow light it can make me anxious or feel hurried because a yellow light means I have to stop or I have to speed up to make it through the light. It alters my behavior sometimes in a dangerous manner. What about blue light? Some people equate blue light with sadness or maybe something else that alters your mood in a different way.

What I am driving at here is that when light is altered and what is pure is no longer pure, it is no longer what God intends for us to shine forth like. When we act as angry Christians, we put off a red light? When we are greedy and non-compassionate towards others needs, we are green light meaning we follow the worldly way of greed.

However, when we focus on God’s ways and let go of worldly ways, the light of God in us exposes the falsity of the worldly ways. It exposes people to a pure love that is not manipulative and is not conditional. It exposes people to God who is unchanging no matter where they are or what circumstances they are in. This is being who Christ has called us to be. We do not need to diminish or corrupt with worldly ways the light of Christ in each of us but instead by our words and actions, let God’s light shine forth then we are being Christians as God knows we can be.