Psalms 19:14

​

 

Have you ever seen a famous painting?

The artist does not paint himself onto the picture. They may sign their painting way down at the corner or even not sign it at all. People may know it’s them because of their style of painting. You can enjoy the painting even if you don’t know the artist.

 

The Bible calls upon us to be artists of sorts but gives us two seemingly conflicting commands.

 

‘Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)

 

‘Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them... (Matthew 6:1)

 

So what should we do?

 

Our very lives are an open book known and read by everyone. The moment we declare that we are children of God, we are on display. A city on a hill that cannot be hidden. Our actions are either a good or a poor reflection of God. If we live right, we will reflect God well. (Matthew 5:14-16)

 

We are reflecting God, not ourselves.

 

Apart from living right, we are called to good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. We can do our good works for God’s glory or for our own glory. Both will be rewarded; the difference is the kind of reward.

 

Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. (Matthew 6:1)

 

If we do good works for our own glory, our reward will be the temporal applause of men (Matthew 6:2). If we do them for God’s glory, we will receive an eternal reward from God who sees everything we do – secret or public. (Matthew 6:3-4) We will have treasure in heaven where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal (Matthew 6:19-20).

 

People are watching us. They look at us to see what Jesus is like.

Are we reflecting Jesus well? Are we proud, arrogant, cruel, unkind, and unloving or are we loving and joyful, peaceful and patient, kind and good, faithful, gentle and self-controlled?

 

The Holy Spirit who lives in us and who gives us spiritual gifts also seeks to bear fruit in us. All the natural and spiritual gifts we have are meaningless if our actions towards others are not controlled by the Spirit.

 

The fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) in our lives supersedes the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13 that if our actions, ministry or good works are not driven by love they are nothing.

 

‘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 underfoot. ‘You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither 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. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16)

 

When we are reflecting God and obeying God, we should be loud and clear. We should shine brightly. Too little light is bad. People need to see God. When we show love to people, we should be careful not to show off. We should do it quietly. Don’t do good to get noticed by people.

 

Too much salt is bad, but too little salt isn’t good either, you want it just right. Salt affects quietly but it does a very good job. We need the salt quiet and the light loud. Our good works should lead people to glorify God not draw attention to ourselves.

 

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

 

How can we be salt and light as we do the good works God created us to do? The answer is LOVE: Love God, love people.

 

Shine brightly and love quietly.

 

https://btodongo.wordpress.com/2024/07/15/created-for-good-works/

Blessings

#fastfriends

Corporate Fasting Tuesday

 

🎼 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever🎻