The Sermon on the Mount… Wow! there is so much here that I honestly feel like I could spend the entire year unpacking these three chapters of Matthew. There is honestly no more poignant, concise and profound transcript of Jesus’ teachings than this. Every word and phrase drips with profound meaning and demands our attention. When considering the themes of Glory, Sabbath, Faithfulness and Pride there are many places we could camp in these three chapters. Jesus has a lot to say about God’s care for His children and our care for one another. We are encouraged repeatedly by Jesus to be humble, to serve and to do so in a way that pleases God and doesn’t crave the applause of man. We are called to live by faith and to do the impossible, really, but in His power and not our own.
I think a good summary statement is found in chapter 5: “No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are 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.” 5:15-16 CSB. In these verses, Jesus carefully expounds on the relationship between our lives and God’s glory. Our relationship with Christ automatically results in service for Him. It is not that God needs us to do His work, but He willingly chooses to work through us. Therefore, we don’t hide our light under a basket or in the closet… we have to put ourselves out there and serve Him.
The question is, “what do people see when our light is shining, are they seeing Him or are they seeing us?” Let your light shine before others so that others see your good works BUT (and this is a big but) they give Glory to God. I wonder a lot about this… how do I let my light shine but Jesus gets the glory? I think the answer comes down to the nature of the light… is it your light shining or is it God’s light shining through you? Are you working for Him or is He at work in and through you? Those are not necessarily the same thing. God has given me certain strengths and talents, and I get that when I use them it is “in a way” Him working through me. But, then there are times in my life when I am obviously out of my comfort zone and trusting Him for things and attempting things that only He can do. That is when it is obvious that God is at work and when He gets the glory. Live with such reckless abandon, and such complete trust in the absolute power of God, that people do see your light but there is no mistake that it is really God who is shining through you… and then people will give glory to your Father in Heaven.
