“If salt has lost its taste, it is no longer good for anything…Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket.”
Matthew 5:13-16
2016, what am I to do? First, we must answer the question of why am I even here? It all depends upon if I really believe what I claim to believe. Let me explain…
One of the biggest differences between a Christian worldview and Atheistic worldview is the issue of “Intelligent Design.” An atheist argues that human beings are products of chance and random occurrences. As Frank Peretti, the Christian writer, once joked, “One day a monkey looked at his reflection in the water and then decided to shave.” To boil it down, there is no reason why we are here, so why do we worry so much about significance and worth? An honest atheist will simply say, “Lighten up and let it go; stop worrying about why you are here. It just doesn’t matter.” Isn’t that freeing?
The Christian on the other hand, believes we have been made in the image of God. We have been created with meaning and purpose. We are intelligently (God is quite smart you know?)designed. Psalm 139 says he created us in our mother’s womb with “fear and wonder.” It suggests that he took his time because he wanted to get you and I just right!
On a side-note, there are some Christians that try to walk the fence on this issue and say that God made us but let evolution do the work. I am not convinced an intelligent God would use non-intelligence to create marvelous image bearers of a brilliant God. Rather silly and idiotic thinking, if you ask me.
So, if we are indeed made ‘fearfully and wonderfully’ that implies purpose. If you were to search the scriptures you will find that God does want us “to do and be” a specific kind of person. One of Jesus’ greatest messages ever given, The Sermon on the Mount, specifically deals with purpose. In the middle of this message (Matthew 5:13-16) Jesus uses two metaphors that are intended to open our eyes to our design: He calls us “Salt & Light.”
These two images are familiar to all of us, they are earthy and easily understood. With these images, there is much that Jesus wants Christians to glean. Preachers love to wax eloquent on how salt preserves and light reveals. But they often miss the most obvious things about these two ideas – – they must be used to be any good.
You light a lamp to let it shine. You store salt to shake it on food. If you don’t, having them is only an exercise in futility and foolishness.
“Hey Martha, look at my new lamp.”
“It’s pretty, but does it work?”
“No, I bought it because it goes with the decor. And do you like the french fries I served you? Those white specks are a new brand of tasteless salt. Less calories you know?”
Ridiculous and useless.
How many Christians only sit in a church to add to the numbers but never shine on a broken world? How many Christians not only watch the world spiral out of control, but are actually adding to its putrefaction? Not this year, not at this time!
We can’t afford to be a community of ridiculousness. Uselessness is not our calling. You were made with exquisite genius. Not to sit on a shelf and look pretty like a ceramic doll (over time they only become objects of horror), nor to eat grass like a hungry cow.
You are to shake and shine. Taste good and light up the world. So that… “people will see your good works and glorify God in heaven.” Now that is something to live for!
