- God loves Church
- God loves the Church walking in the light
Jesus preached a perfect sermon famously called “The Sermon On The Mount.”
Just off the Galilee shore, in a field looking down on the gorgeous lake, Jesus clarified his gospel mission. Early in his message Jesus used two metaphors to drive a point home. According to Jesus, we are the, “Salt of the earth, and the light of the world.”
v.13
Salt operates as a perservative and flavor enhancer. In the ancient world salt kept meat from spoiling, an important task given the absence of refrigeration and the daily reality of desert heat.
In terms of kingdom advancement, salt is a bit of a defensive posture, keeping bad things away.
I believe God calls all his children to traffic as healers this side of heaven. It is to us, God’s children, to work and act on his behalf, with his guidance and power, to bring healing love to a lost and hurting world.
v.14
Light is arguably the poweful effect on earth. In the beginning, God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Light dispells the darkness. Bring light into a dark room and the darkness must flee.
In terms of kingdom advancement, light plays offense, is about aggressive forward advance, and cannot tolerate retreat.
Public Advance
The illustration Jesus used spoke about a “City on a hill,” a public kind of light seen by all.
This brings us to the public square, the place where Jesus’ words and life are absolutely necessary.
Proverbs 29:2 says, “When the righteous increase, the people rejoice. But when the wicked rule, the people groan.” The kingdom cannot be contained privately, it determines a way to posses the public square, the halls of government, the arts, and every corner of influence known to man. The Kingdom of God is determined to advance.
A Huge Problem
China serves as a classic tragedy. When people go away from God’s plan, terror is sure to follow.
The Chinese government for decades forced families to have only one child, heavily favoring boys. Now there are 35 million more eligible bachelors in China than women. The tragedy is not waiting to happen, the terror is upon us right now.
India, for different reasons, was biased against girls. In a weird irony, India now has same boy/girl ratio problem, 35 million more eligible bachelors than women.
Which brings to the global epidemic of human sexual trafficking. It is a supply and demand problem caused by godless governments.
God is calling each one of us to speak into the darkness, and bring light and love to this problem.
An American Problem
The Chinese and Indian governments are not the only sinners, Americans sin in like manner through abortion.
Abortion is a tragedy and a terror to society. Certainly no judgment to those who have experienced such a thing, only love, grace and healing to all who have gone there.
But speaking plainly, abortion violates God’s plan, and society pays a huge price. Inside Rebekah’s tummy were two babies (Genesis 25:23), and the Lord told her those babies represented two nations. Inside every tummy is great potential, perhaps even great nations.
