This past week, I taught on the subject of the offering, and how God does not desire our offering if it is not given from the heart.  This is not a difficult concept to understand.  With the holidays fast approaching, I’m sure that most of you can think of a family member who only gives because they are expected to.  These people tend to put very little effort into the gift.  As you unwrap the gift, it becomes clear that this person was not thinking of you when they purchased it.  I’m sure the standard sitcom joke of the wife receiving a power tool from her husband comes to mind.  So, why would we then assume that God wants our halfhearted worship?  Psalms 96:8 says, “Give to the Lord, the glory He deserves!  Bring your offering and come into his courts”.

            The glory He deserves?  What glory does the creator of everything deserve?  What glory does the Father who sent His Son to die for us deserve?  What glory does the God who seeks after us even when we run as far away from Him as possible deserve?  We would not hesitate to reward someone for saving our lives.  Heck, we reward people for finding our dog.  Why would we not look for every opportunity to reward the God who saved us from death?  Remember, when you give to God from your heart, you are worshiping your King. 

Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.

            This passage always reminds me of the children’s song, “This Little Light of Mine”.  I’m sure I am not the only one who had to perform a charming rendition of this classic in front of all their parents.  But what gets me is that this passage is not for children, not directly anyways. Matthew 5 does not say that Jesus faced the children in the crowd, raised his pointer finger in front of his face, bent slightly at the waist to accent the bobbing motion his hips were making to the beat of the song as He sang “this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine”.  No, He was talking to grown men and women.  When was the last time you saw a grown man pretending that his finger was a candle?  You would only see that if he happened to be teaching the song to another generation of children for their upcoming performance. Isn’t it strange how we forget about our own responsibilities as light bearers?  Perhaps if we payed closer attention to the light we were shining, we wouldn’t need to teach our children a catchy song.  But that isn’t the only part of this passage intended to make us take inventory of our lives.

            What does Jesus mean when He describes us like a city on a hill top?  Of course a city on a hill top cannot be hidden.  Is Jesus rambling?  Has He lost it?  No, Jesus knows exactly what He is saying.  It is not the city that cannot be hidden, but rather the light that shines from the city.  Not only are we to be the light of the world; a light in a world of darkness, but we need to be aware that our light can be seen by everyone.  When someone knows that you are a Christian, and they see you doing good things and loving other people, they can recognize the connection.  But what happens if a Christian gets caught acting in a way that is not very light worthy?  It damages that person’s reputation, but it also damages the reputation of Christ.  The light of the world shines a little less bright because of it.  This is why it is such a big deal when Pastors are caught having affairs or church staff members are caught stealing money from the church.  It is not only the person who is affected.  The world’s view of Christ is affected as well.  We need to be aware of the power we have in our daily lives.  We need to understand our responsibility as disciples of Jesus Christ.  And we need to avoid calling ourselves Christians until we are ready to step aside and let Jesus sit on the thrown of our lives. 

     This past week at Youth Group, we discussed the topic of faith.  Faith is not, I repeat NOT, believing in something that you cannot prove.  This is most commonly how those who would oppose Christianity will tend to define “Faith”, but in all actuality this is a weak and very incorrect definition.  The Greek word that we translate to English as “Faith” (Pistis) can also be translated to the word “Trust”.  Trust is not a word that implies a lack of evidence.  Even someone who puts their “blind trust” in something is not actually making a decision without evidence.  Let’s say a friend is coming over to hang out at your house after school and they bring one of their friends that you have never met.  You might say that you are “blindly trusting” this person to respect the rules of your house because you don’t know them, but the reality is that you are making judgments based on how they look, dress, talk, etc.  At the very least, you are deciding that you can trust this person in your home based on how much you trust your friend to make good decisions in who they hang out with.

     Just as these decisions are not made blindly, our Faith in Jesus is not blind.  We have well documented evidence that points to the historicity of the life and death of Jesus (conformation that Jesus actually lived and was actually crucified).  Using the same methods as every other historical document, we know that our Bible is an accurate copy of the original manuscripts.  Again, using the same methods as any other historical document, we can tell that the events depicted in the Bible are truthful.  But Faith is so much more than simply knowing something is true.

     How do you know you have faith in someone or something?  You know you have faith in someone or something when you are willing to act on that faith.  If two people go sky diving and only one jumps out of the plane, which of the two has faith in their parachute?  The one who jumps! 

     Where are you at in your journey?  Are you ready to jump?  Then Jump!  Jesus’ instructions for our lives are so simple, yet they are some of the most challenging things you will ever have to do in your life.  But, knowing who your King is makes it worth the work.  Maybe you need a little more information before you are ready to jump, and that’s ok.  But don’t wait to get your questions answered for too long.  Find yourself a mature Christian that can help you unpack things for you, or email your question to me @ youth@Hispathway.org.

For His Glory,

Tom Dixon