Shade Tree Wisdom 6/12/12

          Psalm 119,130:
                   “Your Word is a door that lets in light,
                     And helps people understand”.

           In that light let’s check some words Jesus uses to describe His People.  First He calls us “Salt and Light”. He also uses leaven. The words Jesus uses tell us something about what we are, do they not?

           For Jesus told us that “I pray not that Thou wouldst take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldst keep them from the evil”. John 17,15. Because they are “not of the world’ v.14.

           We are here to be salt and light. Salt penetrates food and gives it taste and keeps away decay; light penetrates the dark and drives away fear, and leaven penetrates a lump of dough and makes it rise for baking. The emphasis is on what we do, or are, here.

           So church that is successful grows and has an impact on the world it lives in.

           And look how the Lord placed His children, here in a classroom, there in an office, another a cop on a street, or a watchman keeping the place safe. In clinics and hospitals,. In city and in country, God has placed His children. That s an exciting picture.

           A Finnish infidel willed his farm to the devil. In settling the estate the court decided the best way to carry out that will was to allow the farmland grow up in weeds, and the buildings to go unpainted. The court said, “The best way to carry out this will is to do nothing.” Well, you know what happened.

           It’s a law of nature. When things are not tended, they will regress.

           Joshua said, ‘Choose you this day whom you will serve.” Josh 24,15. We believe Jesus died and rose again for us, for the sins of the world. That’s the message to bring light and understanding to sinful people.

           But light often grows dim so slowly it hardly shows, or salt loses its bite because of unseen moisture and we do no realize the loss till we need it. Or we become discouraged because we are so alone in this sin-wracked world. But if one Christian takes a stand, it has an effect on the rest. Paul wrote in Philippians that his being in jail gave courage to others to speak of Jesus too.

           Be Salt, be light, be leaven, let your light so shine that the world does mark your being there to make it just a little better.

GPD 6/12/12