Do you want to be Blessed today?

Matthew 5

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; ¹⁵ nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

¹⁷ “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹ Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

²⁰ “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

²¹ “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ ²² But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. ²³ Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. ²⁵ Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.

This text from "The Sermon on the Mount", in today's reading in the One Year Bible(link available on links page of this site), follows the familiar listing of the Blessed are those who... That list of those who are blessed contains important promises from God for our circumstances. For instance on the "Comfort in Mourning" page of this site, it talks about the promise of God to those who are mourning the loss of a loved one.

 I chose this portion though because it holds what I believe to be a foundational truth and instruction for our lives.This text begins with Jesus saying that we are the salt and light of the earth. These are two areas in which I believe that the institutional church and individual believers have really strayed from their calling in and to the world. Let's first look at what it means that we are to be the salt of the earth. We need to recognize that in Jesus times there was no refrigeration, there was no packaging to keep food from spoiling. Salt was not so much used as a flavor enhancer as it was a preservative. In the same way while the Christian life should indeed be an example of the added flavor that living for Jesus brings, we should more importantly bring a level of preservation of morals and righteousness to our culture and society. Throughout much of the institutional church and in the lives of many who say they are believers there is little distinction in moral issues between the church and the world. In Jesus time when salt lost it's preserving power it would be dumped in the streets and so as the text says trampled under foot. If the church does not maintain it's call to preserve morals and righteousness to society, God has little use for her.  In the same way it says:  “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; ¹⁵ nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.  We are to let our light shine before men. Far too much of the church and individuals are focussed on the programs and the meeting that happen within the walls of the church. One or two days a week there are gatherings were people come together to do their "religeous things", while the rest of the week they blend in with the rest of the world. Our light, the light of Christ in us, is to shine all day every day, so that people see our good and God is glorified. The world views believers as hypocrites because they don't see the evidence of salt and light in our lives.  

Jesus continues then by saying He did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. He goes on to explain how this fulfillment in Him calls us to a higher standard not a lessor one than the law. In Christ we are to not only not physically kill others but we are not to judge them with our words either. Look at Jesus instruction in verses 23 and 24.  ²³ Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.    There is a tendency for us to mix this instruction with other scripture about conflict. This verse says that if you remember that your brother has something against you. This is not about our going to them to let them know what they did wrong or how they may have hurt or offended us. Jesus gives instruction on how we should respond when we have been hurt in Mark 11:

²⁴ Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. ²⁵ Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. ²⁶ [But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”]. The forgiveness we offer to others does not require our going to them to point out there wrongs. Jesus gives us the ultimate example of this in Luke 23:34 where on the cross He says, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

Even when we go to ask forgiveness of others we need to guard against or tendency to explain or justify our actions when we seek forgiveness. There are no sorry buts in the kingdom of God. When we say we are sorry but, we just this or just that, or we are sorry but, you this or that it means we have not first followed the instruction we are given to forgive. There is a place in scripture where we are told to go to a brother who has sinned. Matthew 18:15 says ¹⁵ “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. Again this is concerning sin. Sin is against God. It is not a hurt or offence we feel. There are also two other scriptures which we should keep in mind before we point out sin in some one elses life.

Matthew 7:2-4 2"For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3"Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4"Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye?…

Matthew 18:21-22 ²¹ Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” ²² Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Only after we have examined our own lives are we qualified to look at the lives of others. Then only after we have completely forgiven, seventy times seven, should we go to them. 

Learning to walk in forgiveness and not in judgment is a vital part of being the salt and light we are called to be. As the fulfillment of the law Jesus calls us to a higher standard, a standard we can only achieve in and through Him. Among those who are called blessed by Jesus are these:

⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

I pray that you will be Blessed today.