To be salt and light in this world is to believe in the incarnated Christ, hear His voice and obey His teaching. However, Jesus warns in the closing of His Great Sermon that when we hear His words and fail to obey them, His message is corrupted. Through disobedience we cease to live rightly before our neighbors. We proclaim His name but they see only our hypocrisy not the Lord’s character revealed through us. Doing so, we are no longer salt; we are no longer light; we offer only religion: a worldly distraction. Jackson Cramer rightly taught, “Religion is one of the great tools for excluding God from our lives.”
Jesus calls us to be salt and light void of irrelevant religious practices heaped in narrow, petty attitudes entangled in spiritual self-righteousness. Instead, Jesus, the Lord of Light, compels us to obey His commands: manage anger, forsake hatred, seek justice for the oppressed, reconcile conflict, and dispense grace and mercy. Through obedience to Jesus we reflect light in the darkness, illuminating an abundant life unhinged from the dark shadows of lifeless, soul-crushing religion.
Thank you, Charles, for your interest in my post. Here is my attempt to explain my understanding of religion.
Religion is a social construct defining “particular social systems of faith and worship.” Religion is left standing when social-spiritual collectives deny the incarnation and resurrection of Jesus as the Messiah, and edify human effort as the means to bring about peace and justice in the world. Religion is also left standing when social-spiritual collectives proclaim the incarnation and resurrection of Jesus as the Messiah yet fail to “hear and do” what He teaches, failing to be salt and light in a world desperate for peace and justice. George MacDonald was spot on when he wrote, “Peace is for those who listen and do the truth, not merely have an opinion of it.” In short, religion is left standing when, as Kierkegaard contends, social-spiritual collectives admire Jesus, even claim His divinity, yet fail to imitate Him and hold firm to His teachings and commands revealed in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7). There is strong evidence today that the astonishing words of the Great Sermon have been relegated to a theoretical discourse on virtuous living with little regard to the explicit command to hear and do. Left standing is religion void of divine power (2 Timothy 3:5).
I appreciate your thoughtful response and insights Mark. I often think of religion in terms of humankind's efforts to climb up to God. Jesus showed us an entirely different way, of how God comes down to us. This is why Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes, which are all about the way of descent.
Charles, I appreciate how you define the Beatitudes as the way of descent. The Great Sermon illuminates the way of descent if we commit ourselves to obedience. This would require us to live counter-culturally. George MacDonald wrote, “I do not say we are called upon to dispute, and defend with logic and argument, but we are called upon to show that we are on the other side.” We live in a culture that embraces the notion of upward mobility: to live large in the eyes of others, to “walk proudly in the world’s parade” (Tozer). However, to be salt and light, our radical Rabbi illuminates another way to live in this world: to embrace a life of downward stability. It is here we stand on the other side, and build our lives upon a stable foundation the cultural ethos of this world considers maniacal. Yes, as we set our course to be salt and light, we may appear to be crazy as loons to many who cross our path. We must remain steadfast. Someone will inquire about the peace we project in our craziness. The answer is short and sweet: “It’s all about downward stability, the way of Jesus.” Downward to move upward, a most divine paradox.
In almost every important matter Jesus' way is upside-down from ours. He who wants to be great in God's eyes must become like a child. He who wants to find life must lose his own..... We need each other to stay the course of lowliness. Thanks Mark for your encouraging words.
It's interesting how Jesus often juxtaposes "life" with taking up his cross. We give up everything to follow Jesus only to gain true life in exchange. Of course, "true life" is life defined in terms of God's kingdom. That kingdom is something other than the world we've grown accustomed to.
To be salt and light in this world is to believe in the incarnated Christ, hear His voice and obey His teaching. However, Jesus warns in the closing of His Great Sermon that when we hear His words and fail to obey them, His message is corrupted. Through disobedience we cease to live rightly before our neighbors. We proclaim His name but they see only our hypocrisy not the Lord’s character revealed through us. Doing so, we are no longer salt; we are no longer light; we offer only religion: a worldly distraction. Jackson Cramer rightly taught, “Religion is one of the great tools for excluding God from our lives.”
Jesus calls us to be salt and light void of irrelevant religious practices heaped in narrow, petty attitudes entangled in spiritual self-righteousness. Instead, Jesus, the Lord of Light, compels us to obey His commands: manage anger, forsake hatred, seek justice for the oppressed, reconcile conflict, and dispense grace and mercy. Through obedience to Jesus we reflect light in the darkness, illuminating an abundant life unhinged from the dark shadows of lifeless, soul-crushing religion.
I'm interested, Mark, in what your understanding of "religion" is. Otherwise, what you say about obeying Jesus' commands is spot on. Thanks.
Thank you, Charles, for your interest in my post. Here is my attempt to explain my understanding of religion.
Religion is a social construct defining “particular social systems of faith and worship.” Religion is left standing when social-spiritual collectives deny the incarnation and resurrection of Jesus as the Messiah, and edify human effort as the means to bring about peace and justice in the world. Religion is also left standing when social-spiritual collectives proclaim the incarnation and resurrection of Jesus as the Messiah yet fail to “hear and do” what He teaches, failing to be salt and light in a world desperate for peace and justice. George MacDonald was spot on when he wrote, “Peace is for those who listen and do the truth, not merely have an opinion of it.” In short, religion is left standing when, as Kierkegaard contends, social-spiritual collectives admire Jesus, even claim His divinity, yet fail to imitate Him and hold firm to His teachings and commands revealed in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7). There is strong evidence today that the astonishing words of the Great Sermon have been relegated to a theoretical discourse on virtuous living with little regard to the explicit command to hear and do. Left standing is religion void of divine power (2 Timothy 3:5).
I appreciate your thoughtful response and insights Mark. I often think of religion in terms of humankind's efforts to climb up to God. Jesus showed us an entirely different way, of how God comes down to us. This is why Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes, which are all about the way of descent.
Charles, I appreciate how you define the Beatitudes as the way of descent. The Great Sermon illuminates the way of descent if we commit ourselves to obedience. This would require us to live counter-culturally. George MacDonald wrote, “I do not say we are called upon to dispute, and defend with logic and argument, but we are called upon to show that we are on the other side.” We live in a culture that embraces the notion of upward mobility: to live large in the eyes of others, to “walk proudly in the world’s parade” (Tozer). However, to be salt and light, our radical Rabbi illuminates another way to live in this world: to embrace a life of downward stability. It is here we stand on the other side, and build our lives upon a stable foundation the cultural ethos of this world considers maniacal. Yes, as we set our course to be salt and light, we may appear to be crazy as loons to many who cross our path. We must remain steadfast. Someone will inquire about the peace we project in our craziness. The answer is short and sweet: “It’s all about downward stability, the way of Jesus.” Downward to move upward, a most divine paradox.
In almost every important matter Jesus' way is upside-down from ours. He who wants to be great in God's eyes must become like a child. He who wants to find life must lose his own..... We need each other to stay the course of lowliness. Thanks Mark for your encouraging words.
It's interesting how Jesus often juxtaposes "life" with taking up his cross. We give up everything to follow Jesus only to gain true life in exchange. Of course, "true life" is life defined in terms of God's kingdom. That kingdom is something other than the world we've grown accustomed to.