THE LAW OF “BEING”
MATTHEW 5:14 – YOU ARE
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
WHAT DOES IT SAY?
Jesus is speaking in the language of a metaphor. He is saying that His disciples are to be like light which is meant to illuminate goodness, truth and justice and to dispel the darkness of evil, error and fear. His disciples are to be like a city set on a mountaintop, visible to all, radiating the light of God’s character, His goodness, mercy and justice.
Jesus is stating a Spiritual Truth and a fact. He is not suggesting what you should be. He is stating what you are as a follower of Christ Jesus – if you are His disciple at all.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
An important word here is the small word “ARE” found in the statement “You are the light of the world…”. This is the Greek word “Eimi”, which is a basic Greek verb expressing the state of BEING, i.e. “to be” – am, is. Strong’s #1510 (eimí), defines this word and its counterparts, as properly conveying existence, without explicit limits. It translates “to exist, to live, to stay, remain in place”.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?
When you have become “poor in spirit” through God’s process of sanctification and thereby become an heir of the Kingdom of Heaven (see Matthew 5:3), God fashions you into His image (poieo). He now resides in you and He is seen, and He does His Works through your mortal body as “The Light of the World”.
People may say they see your good deeds, but what they are seeing is God through you – literally. The importance of this cannot be overstated. If you are His disciple at all, you are to be seen in His Image.
Jesus says, that if you are to enter into a covenant agreement and to follow Him, that is, to be His disciple, you must know that the standards are impossibly high, the disciplines are impossibly strict and the commitment is for life. And, He warns, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God”, and that “MY RIGHTEOUS ONES WILL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF THEY SHRINK BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN THEM”.
WHAT WILL YOU DO?
Will you be made Into His Image and be His Witness (martus) or will you shrink back?
These are urgent times which call for urgent measures. Please, let’s measure up!
Your Brother and Friend,
Mike Young
The next post from Matthew 5 https://whitestone2020.com/2021/01/08/the-light-shines/
The previous post from Matthew 5 https://whitestone2020.com/2021/01/04/being-jesus-disciple/