For many of us, we
tend to start a new year by reflecting on the events and relationships that have
shaped our lives, either for better or for worse, of the previous year. Then,
after that time of reflection, however long it is, we begin the process of
moving forward towards a new year. We begin the attempt to leave the past
behind and begin a new year with a new and fresh slate and with new and fresh
hope when it comes to our future.
And as part of that
process, we sit down and make a list of what we are going to do differently in
the New Year. We even have a name for that list, don’t we? We call that list
our New Year’s Resolutions. And yet, so often, we end up bailing on our
resolutions only weeks after making them. Or, worse yet, we make resolutions
that are filled with loopholes and exceptions that result in us living a life
that fails to reach any of the goals or aspirations we had set for ourselves at
the beginning of the year. And then we end up in that familiar place of
frustration because we seem to be unable to make the changes that we believe
that we desperately need to make in our lives.
And what is the case
individually is also the case for us as a church. Just like individuals, as a
church, we have a tendency to look at the New Year as a time to reflect on the
past, evaluate the present, and plan for the future when it comes to the unique
mission that we have been given. But, as a church, what should be on our New
Year’s resolution list? What should our focus and our goal be as a church as plan
for the future in 2020? And should churches even have strategic plans and
goals?
Fortunately for us, in
an account of Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible, called the
gospel of Matthew, Jesus provides the answer to these questions with a timeless
goal that we should strive towards, both as individuals and as a church. So
let’s begin to look at this timeless goal and its implications when it comes to
our lives as individuals and as a church, beginning in Matthew 5:14:
"You are the light of the world.
Here we see Jesus, as
part of perhaps the most famous sermon that Jesus ever preached, which we know
today as the Sermon on the Mount, paint a word picture for the crowds listening
to Him what the world should see when they come into contact with His
followers. Jesus explained to the crowds listening to Him that those who follow
Him are the light of the world.
Now light, by its very
nature, has incredible impact and influence when it enters into an environment.
For example, just think what happens when you enter into a space that you have
never been in before and turn on a light. When you enter a space that you have
never been in before, do you have any idea what is in there? No, you have no
idea.
And because of that
reality, we often find ourselves searching for a way to bring light into that
space, don’t we? And when we are able to bring light into that space, what
happens? As soon as you bring light into that space, what is in that space is
revealed to you isn’t it? As soon as you bring light into that space,
everything in that space displayed for you to see. The whole point of the light
is to reveal and to display what is present in that space.
But light does more
than just reveal and display. I experienced another function and purpose of
light firsthand on August 12th, 2018. On Saturday August 11th, 2018, a monsoon
storm struck the area around Bullhead City. And at about 7:30 p.m. that
evening, virtually the entire community lost power. I remember thinking
"surely the power will come back on fairly quickly.
At 9:30 p.m., however,
there was still no power. I remember thinking "surely the power will come
back on soon". At 10:30 p.m. however, the power had not come back on. The
rain and lightning had stopped, but still no power. And the house was getting
warmer. I went through the sermon I was going to preach the following morning
the best I could and then went to bed thinking "surely the power will come
back on soon".
After a warm and
restless night sleep, I was awakened by the alarm on the phone thinking
"surely the power is back on". But the power was not back on. I
planned to go shave and shower at the gym by the church. However, I received a
phone call explaining that there was no power at church either. After deciding
that we would have services in spite of the lack of power, I began the process
of getting ready for church.
However, there was an
obvious problem. You see, while I could shower in spite of no power, attempting
to shave without power is an entirely different story. Now, for some of you
guys, you can go a day without shaving. However, for me, since my relatives
must have been wookies, I have a 5 o clock shadow at 9 a..m., so I definitely
needed to shave. But have you ever tried to shave without light?
I then remembered a
trick that I learned from some Jr. and Sr. High students. You see, if you take
the flashlight on your phone and place a Styrofoam cup over the top of it, it will
diffuse the light throughout a room. So with the light of my flashlight under a
Styrofoam cup, combined with the flashlight from my wife's phone, I was able to
shave. You see, in the darkness of that early morning bathroom, the light from those
cell phones and a Styrofoam cup provided the guidance and direction that we
needed to navigate the facial hair on my face so as to shave.
Jesus point here is
that in the same way, as the light of the world, followers of Jesus are to
reveal and reflect Jesus and help provide the guidance and direction necessary
for people to be able to navigate life here on earth. After painting this word
picture what the world should see when they encounter His followers, Jesus then
provided two additional word pictures to challenge the crowds listening.
Tomorrow we will look
at these word pictures together…
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