Imitator, July 25, 2011

Imitator

Reading: Matthew 5:13-16, 13"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

We could study the entire Bible cover to cover to learn how to live, which is very good; but, I am always fascinated simply by Jesus: His life, His teachings and His testimony. Jesus lived only 33 years. To many of us that is really young. Of those 33 years, only 3 of them were spent in ministry. Can you imagine having 3 years… only 3 years to say what you needed to say, do what you needed to do and live how you needed to live. With the Son of God having such a concentrated time to accomplish what He needed to accomplish… everything that He did and said carried that weight of brevity with it. There will be devotionals to follow that are simply labeled “Imitator”, which will be a focus on something that Jesus taught, whether through His words or His life. We are to be imitators of Christ… so… let’s be one today.

In this passage, we are compared to salt and light. Both of which, we are, if you know Jesus as your Savior. Amongst today’s Christians, I see a lot of people who pull their “light” out every time that they walk through the door of the church. All of a sudden, they are all about letting people know that they are a Christian… “I’ll shine when there are other lights around… just don’t expect me to shine on my own out there.” But, isn’t that the purpose?

How can you be an imitator of Christ and His teachings in the passage? How can you be salt and a light around you?… be specific.


Step one, throw away the “bowl” that you timidly hide your light underneath…
Step two, be sure to make a point to set your “light” for all to see.




REVIEW

How did you imitate Christ and be salt and/or light today?


How did it transpire? How did God use your willingness to shine?