Erika Mathews's Blog, page 12
December 14, 2018
The Fruit of the Christmas Spirit
You’ve heard of the fruit of the Spirit:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. ~ Galatians 5:22-23
But have you heard of the fruit of the Christmas Spirit?
(Hint: it’s the same Spirit. And thus the same fruit.)
Yet how do love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance play out in our lives specifically during the Christmas season? How has God revealed Himself to us in each of these areas through the birth of Jesus Christ?
These are questions we’ll answer over the next nine days. Today’s post is a broad overview – a small picture of the Spirit’s fruit as a whole.
What does the fruit of the Spirit have to do with Christmas?
Simply this: the Holy Spirit came upon Mary. She was “overshadowed” by the Spirit – and the Spirit in her produced fruit. In this case, the fruit was later born as a baby, our Savior Jesus Christ.
In a very real sense, Jesus is the fruit of the Spirit. And this is good news for our lives.
Perhaps no Christmas carol declares the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ quite so plainly and succinctly as do the triumphant words of Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.
Marvel at the good news breathed in every line:
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild” –
God and sinners reconciled!
Reconciled – that’s oneness. That’s worth a song.
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th’ angelic host proclaim
Christ is born in Bethlehem!
Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King!
Continued oneness – oneness of every nation, oneness of the very heaven and earth itself, oneness of message, oneness in purpose. This is the news that changes the world, folks. If only we could grasp it, nothing else would hold our interest.
Christ, by highest heaven adored;
Christ, the everlasting Lord;
By highest heaven adored, and yet so often by earth ignored. Oh that we might more and more continually live in the mindset of heaven alone – the mindset of adoration for the eternal one!
Late in time behold Him come,
Offspring of the Virgin’s womb.
Jesus, the perfect fulfillment of every prophecy. Every message of God before this pointed to this moment – this moment “late in time” and yet also perfectly “just in time.”
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Listen to this! Such poetry, theology, promise, and utter blowing of our minds within this one phrase! Veiled in flesh – He took upon Him the form of a servant, He was made in the likeness of men. The Godhead see – not only does this enable us to look upon God and live (what a wonder!), but what we see is God Himself veiled in human flesh – our flesh, the flesh we know, the overpowering glory toned to a level we can behold by this veil. Veiled in flesh the Godhead see! He said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” See Him now, veiled as He has chosen to reveal the Father to our eyes.
Hail, the incarnate Deity,
Pleased as man with man to dwell;
Jesus, our Emmanuel!
Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King!
Incarnate Deity! Very God, very man! One hundred percent God, yet somehow deigning to be “pleased as man with man to dwell” – yes, even taking it upon Himself as His very identity: our Emmanuel, our God-with-us. The Majesty that spoke the world into existence, that removes nations with a breath – the intimate Friend who desires to make His dwelling place within us for eternity. And in this, He is pleased – it pleases Him.
If that doesn’t take your breath away . . .
Hail, the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail, the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Risen with healing in His wings,
Prince of Peace! Mankind is born with war in the blood and strife on the mind. Yet He is the Prince of Peace who is supreme over all mankind’s unrest and discontentment. Sun of Righteousness! The light, the life that shines from Him to our innermost beings, causing certain growth and certain fruit – what a gift indeed He is. He has been made to us righteousness . . . we have been made the righteousness of God in Him. He is the light that shines in the darkness and is not overpowered by it. He has indeed risen, and His touch is healing and life! So much is packed within this one verse . . . it’s who our Savior is.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King!
And now we come to the most majestic, the most awe-inspiring, the most humbling truth of all. This is the gospel: He lays His glory by to be born as the lowest of the low – yet born that man no more may die! Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth! This birth of that baby was a miracle encompassing mankind. As believers, we ought to be continuously shouting this good news from the rooftops: He was born that we no more may die! He was born to raise us! He was born to birth us into the kingdom of God!
And what is more, that is exactly what His life accomplished, through the power of His dependence on His Father. We died once with Him. We have been raised up with Him, and we are now born into that family, that kingdom, that life everlasting that is true life.
The final verse of the carol reflects our heart response to His glorious work:
Come, Desire of nations come,
Fix in us Thy humble home;
Rise, the Woman’s conquering Seed,
Bruise in us the Serpent’s head.
Adam’s likeness now efface:
Stamp Thine image in its place;
Second Adam, from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love.
Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King!
May He indeed come to remain in us through the power of the Spirit of God, the gift He has freely given that we may remain in Him eternally . . . fixed. A home fixed, a life fixed, a Savior fixed.
We know that Jesus Christ bruised satan’s head at the cross, rendering him forever powerless. However, have you ever felt the power of the tempter? Have you ever succumbed to sin? This is the basis for the plea of this carol: “Bruise in us the Serpent’s head.” May the work Jesus Christ already accomplished become real in our lives! By receiving His work, we enter into the reality of it as it is now in His Kingdom. Satan is defeated already in the Kingdom; may He right now be defeated forever in our lives by that finished bruising of the head that Christ accomplished.
Identity is exchanged here: the sin nature of Adam is entirely replaced with the perfect likeness of Jesus Christ. How can this be? It is only through Christ’s eternal dwelling in us.
The one who wears my likeness is me. The One who wears Christ’s likeness is Christ – and because it is now no longer I that live, but Christ who lives in me, I bear His exact likeness! Once more, I wear the image of God that I was created to wear – not in myself, but in Him who lives Himself through me. I’m the carrier; the recognition is His.
And what is more, He has promised that “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (John 14:23). Praise God for the love He’s placed upon us as we guard His Words!
Indeed, we become tangled and forever lost in the glorious love of God! “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.” (John 17:21).
This is the full picture of the fruit of the Spirit of Christmas! Father, Christ, Spirit, and I enwrapped together in an eternal, inseparable oneness of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
And no matter where you are in life, this glorious reality can be yours this Christmas season and beyond.
Come back tomorrow as we zoom in on the first fruit of the Spirit and discover That Mystery of Love.
Find the rest of today’s Twelve Days of Christmas party posts here.
Enter the giveaway here.
December 13, 2018
What’s That Christmas Spirit We Love?
Merry Christmas!
December . . . the very word conjures thoughts of Christmas: hoping for snow . . . family . . . Christmas lights . . . cookies . . . pine trees . . . shopping for the perfect thoughtful gift for a loved one . . . joy, love, smiles, cheer . . . Christmas carols on repeat . . . Christmas movies, Christmas sweaters, Christmas cards, Christmas books, Christmas stockings . . . candlelight Christmas Eve services . . . caroling . . . quiet snowy nights . . . Advent traditions . . . anticipation . . . the Christmas story, nativity, and wonder of the birth of the Savior. The very term Christmas evokes warmth and goodwill. It’s a time of year when everyone seems to be extra benevolent, when smiles and greetings from strangers are natural, when everyone longs to do something a bit extra-special with and for loved ones.
The Christmas Spirit.
Charity. Kindness. Benevolence. Joy. Generosity. Cheer. Love.
Some might frame it in commercial or materialistic terms. Some are content to merely embrace it. Some prolong it, pushing their celebrations earlier in the year to capture a bit more of the wonder of the season.
Yet what is the true Christmas Spirit? And how ought we as followers of Jesus Christ to approach this in our lives?
As we count down to Christmas Day 2018, we’re going to address these questions.
Of course, we know, to begin with, that the true Christmas Spirit and all the positive characteristics stemming from it come from one particular Baby, laid in a manger wearing swaddling clothes. In some mysterious way, that Baby holds the power to transform the behavior of millions.
Many Christmas carols attempt to describe the impact brought by this Baby that is felt and displayed in the lives of many every December:
Sing we joyous all together! Fa la la la la la la la!
Heedless of the wind and weather, Fa la la la la la la la!
Another carol puts it this way:
There’s a happy feeling nothing in the world can buy
When they pass around the coffee and the pumpkin pie.
It’ll nearly be like a picture print by Currier and Ives.
These wonderful things are the things
We remember all through our lives.
There’s a reason the secular market is flooded with Christmas movies, books, stories, and songs. There’s a reason Christmas traditions are so widespread. Whether one calls it magic, wonder, or a miracle, there’s something about this time of year – something the world continually attempts to put its finger on.
… yet why are these the things we remember throughout our lives? Why do we find such memories and traditions thrilling?
It is because it is the expression of the fellowship of Spirit and life of God through us.
Community . . . oneness . . . fellowship . . . love. These words describe just a bit of kingdom life, the life of the body of Christ, the life God designed us to live. And it’s the Spirit that brings us into that fellowship. It’s the Spirit that expresses God through us in acts of kindness and charity. It’s the Spirit that fills our hearts with warmth and joy, because our God is that joy and security. And it’s the Spirit that causes us to find stability, an anchor, peace, comfort, and hope through a Christmas season that may hold little in itself.
Christmas is about gifts . . . and the gift of that Baby-turned-Man-exalted-as-God Jesus Christ Himself is the Spirit.
Have you ever stopped to think about why? Why would Jesus give us the Spirit, and nothing else?
It’s because the Spirit is the fullness of God. The Spirit is God manifested in our lives. When we have the Spirit, we have everything.
So, among all the gifts, decorations, baking, caroling, and general glories of the seasons – take a few minutes right now to ponder the magnitude of Jesus’s gift to you and your receipt of that gift. How can His Spirit in you best honor Him through this season?
And together with His Spirit, enjoy what He’s given you today during this most wonderful time of the year!
Come back tomorrow as we begin to examine the Fruit of the Spirit with a Christmas twist!
Find the rest of today’s Twelve Days of Christmas party posts here.
Enter the giveaway here.
December 11, 2018
Twelve Days of Christmas
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . .
Our true Love, Yahweh God our Father, has sent us the amazing gifts of the fruit of the Spirit through His Son! In the days leading up to Christmas, we’ll be taking a closer look at each of these gifts, illustrated through the old Christmas carols.
Here’s a sneak peek of what’s coming right here to Resting Life on December 14-25!
What’s That Christmas Spirit We Love? // Deck The Halls
The Fruit of the Christmas Spirit // Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
That Mystery of Love // Christians Awake, Salute the Happy Morn // Love
Why So Joyful, World? // Joy to the World! // Joy
The Peace of Our Daily Chaos // Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light // Peace
Everyday Christmas // O Little Town of Bethlehem // Patience
The Song of a Song // It Came Upon a Midnight Clear // Kindness
Every Night Holy // O Holy Night // Goodness
Mirrored Faith // O Come, O Come Emmanuel // Faithfulness
Let’s Call It Gentleness // Away in a Manger // Gentleness
Not-So-Silent Night // Silent Night // Self-Control
Great Tidings We Bring // We Wish You a Merry Christmas
A blessed season of Christmas preparation – and rejoicing in the good news of Jesus Christ! – to you and yours!
July 18, 2018
Weakness’s To-Do List
Why is it that when we are weak, then we are strong? Why is it that His strength is made perfect in weakness?
When we are truly weak, what characterizes our lives?
We have no energy.
What can we do with no energy?
Can we fret? Worry takes a tremendous amount of mental and emotional energy. When we are truly weak, we have no energy to fret.
Can we mock other people? Mocking others usually require physical energy, mental energy, and emotional energy.
Can we complain? Complaining also takes energy. Can we deride or criticize each other? If we are truly weak, what do we have that they lack? Can we boast of ourselves in pride? Weakness has nothing in itself of which to boast. Can we strive with others? Strife takes effort and energy.
The fact is that when we are truly weak, we can do none of these things. A weak person has no energy to accomplish any of these things. In weakness, every ounce of the being is simply concentrating on surviving – on living – on breathing and abiding in the next moment. There is no other thought or energy to waste on anything else.
All that weakness can do is rest!
No wonder Paul says that he takes pleasure in infirmities, reproaches, necessities, persecutions, and distresses for Christ’s sake. No wonder he says that when he is weak, then he is strong! Strength comes through rest – “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence (trust) shall be your strength” (Isaiah 30:15). The more we rest – in our own weakness and lack of anything in ourselves – the more His strength is made perfect in our weakness through rest!
With this perspective, we can see how weakness is not a burden but a blessing. When we are in weakness, we are at the height of His kingdom. The place of weakness – if we rest in Him through it – is the place of freedom from worry, mocking, complaining, criticism, pride, and strife. It is the place where our minds and hearts can be fixed fully on Him alone – for we have no strength to turn them in any other direction. No wonder God says that He has chosen the weak things of the world to confound them that are mighty – that no flesh should glory in his presence, but that he that glories would glory in the Lord.
Are you resting in the weakness He has blessed you with?
April 2, 2018
Lighting My Candle
It’s the last day of the Light Scripture challenge! How have you been doing in meditating on Jesus Christ our Light?
Light Day 31: Psalm 18:28-33
For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.
As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?
It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places.
This final passage on light is one that reveals complete trust in our God: He will light our candle.
Throughout this challenge, we’ve seen:
Christ as the true light
Christ as the fountain of life continually bubbling over with light reflected
how light comes as we agree with God that we have sinned
the importance of believing in the light
how living in darkness is a choice
how it isn’t enough to just read or study Scripture
how declaring the light carries us into it
how light is like a seed
how even death becomes light
how His law is an important source of light in our lives
how to live the shining life
how serious it is to confuse darkness and light
the condition God gives for causing our light to break forth as morning
the blessings of pouring out our souls for others
how His Spirit is our light
how the darkness we live in depends on the state of our eyes
what God’s greatest work for us is
how He makes darkness light before us
how light that condemns is actually our true salvation
eight blessings light brings
the glorious contrast brought by the rising of Christ our light
how God is our everlasting light
how changing our mind is receiving light
how light is the surety of God’s covenant
how to receive unmatched wisdom
how to reflect the Son even in a dark cellar
how to be singly focused
how our mind is our candlestick
how to have joy in depression
how to love as Jesus loves
Today, let’s examine how another aspect of how we receive light.
Picture yourself as a candle – not a lighted candle, but a cold, lifeless candle, hidden away in a box. Your sides may be smooth, your color may be rich, but you aren’t being used for the purpose for which you were designed. You have no life.
But then, a hand reaches for you. It brushes the dust away. It places you over the heat, and you feel yourself melting away. You feel as though you have nothing left of who you were.
Yet the hand reaches out and pours you into a new mold – a differently-shaped mold, a mold shaped like the One that holds you. Then you feel alone again – alone and abandoned for a long while.
At long last, you feel a movement, and you realize the hand has been there all along. With pressure and squeezing, you’re released from the mold and moved again – but this time not to a dark place: to a candlestick. You feel a rushing of mighty air, a blaze of heat like a tongue of fire resting upon your head, and you feel life surge through you. You are alive in a way you never have been before. You have a new power flooding through you. Your eyes are opened, and you see. You know you could run through a troop or leap over a wall; you have been girded with strength and perfected.
This is a picture of life in our Lord, filled with His Spirit. He lights our candle; He fills us with Himself and for the first time, we possess strength and ability far exceeding anything our natural flesh could do. We have been awakened to a new life, and this life is well beyond anything we could begin to imagine! It’s an entirely new sort of existence – the Power and Spirit of Another flows through us!
That’s life when we’ve been lit by God.
Have you received it today in all the fullness of its reality? Grasp the potential and the blessings He offers to you right now!
~~~
The Light Scripture Reading Challenge is at an end, but the challenge of walking in God’s light carries on!
Did you have a passage of Scripture during the challenge that particularly stood out to you? Let us know in the comments!
What other sorts of challenges might you be interested in participating in? Comment with your ideas!
April 1, 2018
How To Love as Jesus Loves
Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
The true Light now shines! Jesus Christ is living and here within us, shining eternally through our lives!
Because of this, He gives “a new commandment,” and, once again, this new commandment centers around love.
Love and light go together. God is love; God is light. Throughout Scripture, these two concepts are often discussed together. Without light, there can be no love; and where there is no love, there is no light.
This passage is clear that hating one’s brother and walking in light cannot coexist. Yet the new commandment that Jesus gave was “Love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” Jesus laid down His life in love for us – how can we possibly love each other as Jesus loves us?
The answer is that it is only Jesus who can love as Jesus loves. No one else can come close to meeting that standard. Trying to love like Jesus in our own strength will only reveal how incapable we are and how far we fall short.
Instead, to love one another, we must receive the very life and love and light of Jesus Himself into our beings. He died and rose and ascended to His Father that He might live His life through us – that He might live inside us – that it may be no longer I who lives (no longer I in my failing flesh), but Christ who lives in me! And He is 100% capable of loving others through us exactly as He loves us!
Receiving His love and allowing it to flow through us to others isn’t a passive activity. It doesn’t mean we just sit back and let Him do it, all the while excusing our own laziness. It’s actively living WITH Him, loving WITH Him, acting in kindness and gentleness as He leads, listening to His voice and following His word – it’s true life with Him!
When this is our lifestyle, resting and yet actively living in Him as our Keeper, there is truly no occasion for stumbling. He is our Elohim – our Strong Leader who keeps our lives hidden in His care. Walk in the light, as He is in the light, and receive the joy of true, selfless, giving Love!
March 31, 2018
Joy in Depression
Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.
For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.
Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
The purpose of sending of God’s light and truth is clearly stated in this passage: to lead us to God Himself – His holy hill, His inner place.
In the midst of false accusations from an ungodly nation and from deceitful and unjust men, in the midst of feelings of being forsaken by God, in the midst of deep mourning, in the midst of enemy oppression, in the midst of soul depression and unrest – God’s light and truth are the hope and pillar of existence. In the midst of any or all of these circumstances, looking to His light and truth brings increased intimacy with Him and a closer walk with Christ.
That is what transforms us from depression and mourning to praising our God with exceeding joy! Even in the valley of the shadow of death, the light and truth of God implanted within us through Christ enable us to give thanks in all circumstances.
Are you hoping in God through the bleak circumstances of your life today? His purpose for you is that true fellowship and true joy!
March 30, 2018
Your Mind is Your Candlestick
Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light.
For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.
Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.
Hear and bear fruit: this is the admonition that Jesus continually repeats. The essence of this charge is summed up in the final verse of this passage: “Take heed therefore how ye hear.”
It’s not enough just to hear. It’s not enough just to be a candle that is lit. How we hear – how we receive the light of the word of God – is crucially important.
Two analogies are given in this passage to explain this key point: the analogy of the seed and the analogy of the candle. Both describe how to hear.
The candle analogy might seem a bit blurred: how can we receive God’s light upon a candlestick instead of putting it under a vessel or a bed? The parable of the seed sown is clear: in order to bear fruit, when you hear the word of God, you must keep it. Under a vessel or a bed, not only is the room in darkness, but the flame is also deprived of air and quickly goes out. Similarly. when we hear the word of God, if we simply store it in our physical brain, forget about it, and move on to something else, it will not bear the fruit of illuminating our being. Each of the verses about seed on the wayside, stony ground, and thorn ground also demonstrate this point.
Since keeping the word of God is the key to setting our light on a candlestick and hearing in a way that brings forth fruit, what does it mean to keep it?
The Greek word translated keep in this particular passage means “to hold down, to hold fast.” The picture is something being held securely – making certain we have sure possession of it, keeping it safe, clinging tightly to it.
Is this the way you are hearing the word of God? Is it your treasure – do you truly value every word of God? Do you ponder it, guard it, and hold it tightly, making it the priority of your thoughts so that it implants itself in your heart and belief system?
If the eye is the light of the body, the conscious mind is its candlestick. What you think about is what comes out of our mouth and through your behavior. What you think about becomes your belief system. May those who enter your life see and recognize the light of the Word of God shining brightly through you!
March 29, 2018
A Single Focus
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
A double-minded nature corrupts and blurs the light we have within us. If we simultaneously attempt to lay up treasures both on earth and in heaven, we will do neither well. When one eye gazes one direction and the other eye gazes the other direction, confusion and misdirection results.
Similarly, if we attempt to serve two masters – God and the world’s system – we end up serving neither. As James succinctly writes:
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Instead, Jesus Christ calls us to be single: singly-minded, singly-focused. While some might say you’re so heavenly minded that you’re no earthly good, Jesus says the opposite:
Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
It’s only when our eyes are singly fixed upon Christ that we discover both the true riches of the heavenly life and the true riches of the earthly life.
The focus of our eyes reveals the focus of our hearts. Our eyes will look towards that to which our hearts incline. Since “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also,” it’s vitally important that we lay up treasures in heaven. When our hearts belong to Christ and our treasure is in Him, we will naturally look to Him and receive His light flooding our being. Looking to self, to others, or to the world will only bring darkness and confusion – and how great that darkness will prove to be in our lives when we make our decisions based on what we observe or feel from earthly factors instead of heavenly ones!
Paul wrote:
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. (II Corinthians 11:3)
Instead, let’s determine, with Paul, to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified! (I Cor. 2:2)
March 28, 2018
Reflecting the Son
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
After harvest, a farmer stored his potatoes in the darkest corner of his basement. A few weeks later, he noticed that they had begun to sprout. Puzzled, he examined the cellar more closely.
A copper kettle hanging near the tiny cellar window had caught the sun’s rays and reflected them onto the potatoes, providing them with enough light to germinate.
No matter what circumstances in life surround us, our Father desires us to reflect the light of the Son to those in the darkest corners of the earth. Jesus is speaking in this passage of identity – who you are: you are the light of the world. While perhaps you may not feel like you are in the position of a “moon” that reflects Christ’s light to a large portion of the world at once, anyone can be a “copper kettle” that reflects the Son to those nearest to him. In pondering Christ’s command to “Let your light so shine before men…” three aspects of shining His light are revealed.
The Means By Which We Shine
The light and life of Christ within us are the means by which we allow our light to shine. As we’ve seen, Christ Himself is the source of all light.
In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not…That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. (John 1:4-5, 9)
By the coming of Christ, God caused His light to shine in our hearts (II Corinthians 4:6). Through the light of life in Christ, we can reflect Christ to others as a witness for His glory.
The Methods By Which We Shine
The methods by which we reflect His light are outlined in His Word. Scripture records:
For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light. (Ephesians 5:8)
This includes abiding in His light, greeting others in the name of Christ with His joy, and allowing Him to live His life through us. However, the clearest reflection of His light occurs as we love the LORD with our whole heart.
Let them that love him be as the sun which goeth forth in his might. (Judges 5:31)
When the love of Christ is shed abroad in our heart, we become a powerful testimony to others.
The Results of Shining
As we let our light shine before men, the most crucial result is the glorification of our Father in heaven. Since Christ is light, any light that others perceive in us ultimately brings honor to Him.
Second, others become attracted to the light of Christ and are motivated to possess His light for themselves.
Third, allowing our light to shine brings wonderful joy to our lives as we reflect Christ to others.
What circumstances has God placed you in? Where are you in relation to the Son? How brightly is His light shining in your heart? Are you reflecting His light to others? Even if you do not think that you possess a large influence, shine for Christ anyway. He will be glorified whether or not others are impacted by your light, and you will be blessed with joy in His brightness! Shine your light brightly today – there may be some potatoes in an unseen dark corner that will receive power for glorious new life and growth through your reflection of Christ!
