Show Notes
Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” I have often heard people say that they are happy for individuals to have a Christian faith so long as it’s a private matter. For Jesus, it was unthinkable that following Him could be kept private. It can’t be done, because those who live close to God will be fundamentally affected by their faith, and this will inevitably exhibit itself in the way they conduct themselves. Like salt, their influence will have an impact on all those who come into contact with them. Salt is very different from the foods that it accompanies. It is useful and tasty precisely because it is different. So too as Christians we are encouraged to be different from the society in which we live. Our morality and standards are not shaped by our society but by God, so it should never be a surprise when we stand out from the people around us. One of the key characteristics of salt is that it is a preservative. With refrigeration, we are hardly aware of this function of salt, but until recent history it was of crucial importance. Jesus calls on His followers to get deeply involved in the life of society in order to uphold high standards. It is high praise when someone is described as ‘the salt of the earth’, and we should all aim to be precisely that. Question In what way are you able to be salt in your community? Prayer Lord God, help me to live so close to You that Your loving, gracious influence touches those around me. Amen
More from Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion
Matthew 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The life to which Jesus calls us is one of blessing. This is life at its very best. But Jesus never tried to disguise the fact that His followers would face rejection and persecution just as He did. Jesus assures His followers in every age that if they stand up for the truth, there will inevitably be many people who have a vested interest in bringing them down. Persecution is normally subtle. For the majority of Christians in Eastern Europe during the communist era, the challenge was not the likelihood of imprisonment or martyrdom. That happened from time to time for a few, but the ever-present daily challenges were in areas such as education and employment. I recall visiting Romania during those tough years and hearing about the relentless daily pressures on Christians because they weren’t card-carrying communists. In our society, the challenges are very different, but they are inevitable. In a society that has long since rejected Christianity, it can be exceptionally hard to speak about personal faith. We will often be accused and even mocked for our faith. Many Christians live with a continual barrage of sarcasm. And if you find yourself in a position where you believe your organisation is acting unethically, it can be incredibly tough to stand up for truth and justice. Jesus is not encouraging us to go looking for persecution and suffering, but rather to be totally unsurprised when it happens. Question In what ways have you faced resistance because of your Christian faith? Prayer Loving God, give me Your strength day by day so that I will be able to stand strongly for You, whatever the challenges. Amen
Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. In this beatitude, Jesus isn’t talking about being peace-lovers but peacemakers, and that’s something very different. A peace-lover will often do anything to avoid conflict. They will even allow bad behaviour to continue because of the desire to ‘keep the peace’. Sadly, that kind of attitude does nothing to bring healing to the situation and can easily lead to it becoming far worse. Peacemaking is the tough task of not turning away from conflict but, in the name of Christ, deliberately facing it and seeking to bring His miraculous gift of peace. Robert V Taylor, the president of the Desmond Tutu Foundation, wrote: “If you want peace, don’t talk to your friends, talk to your enemies.” I suspect we all dislike conflict. We hate it when voices are raised and people storm out of meetings or fall out with one another. It’s exhausting, discouraging and sad. But it’s also very common and always has been. That’s precisely why Jesus recruited followers 2,000 years ago and still does. He needs you and me to get to know Him well enough to have the courage to walk towards conflicts and not away from them. If we always run away from places of anger and brokenness, we will never be able to make Jesus’ offer of peace, and we will deny ourselves the joy of seeing people find unity and a new future. As the children of God, peacemaking is God’s way for each one of us. Question Where is God calling you to be a peacemaker at the moment? Prayer Loving God, thank You for Your gift of peace. Give me renewed determination to bring Your peace wherever I go. Amen
Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. If you have any gold or silver, you will know that it is vital for the metal to be free from all impurity. If it is even slightly impure it will be worth only a fraction of the value of the pure metal. Here, Jesus is saying that the same rule applies to our spiritual lives. We need to be single-minded, keeping our eyes fixed on His kingdom and not allowing ourselves to be distracted by any lesser objective. For most of us, this will make uncomfortable reading. Even our best efforts can very easily be spoilt by unhelpful motives. When we give generously to help others, we will often feel personal pleasure and pride at what we have given. In fulfilling our roles in our churches, it is easy to focus far too much attention on the love and gratitude we gain from our service. Even in preaching the word of God there is always the danger of self-satisfaction at having preached a wonderful sermon. One day after John Bunyan had just finished delivering a sermon, someone came up and told him that he had preached well. He apparently replied: “The devil already told me that as I was coming down the pulpit steps.” Honesty compels us all to admit that we are a long way away from living lives of complete purity. God knows that, and by His Spirit He helps us to live more closely to Him. Question What would help you to live more single-mindedly for God? Prayer Lord God, I confess that I easily get distracted from following Your will. I praise You for Your forgiveness and for the renewing power of Your Spirit. Amen
Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Jesus told many stories that make us sit up. One of the most powerful was the story of the king who was owed millions of pounds by one of his servants (Matthew 18:21-35). The man couldn’t possibly pay his debt, so he fell on his knees and begged the king to be patient. The king took pity on him and cancelled the debt. If you have ever been deeply in debt, you will know what an amazing experience that was for the servant. The relief must have been incredible. The servant then went out and met a friend who owed him a trivial amount, but the servant demanded that he be paid back in full. He threw his friend into prison until he recovered all his money. When the king heard this, he was incensed and ordered that the servant, who had been let off the most enormous debt, be thrown into prison and tortured until he paid back every last penny. Ouch! Jesus concluded by saying that this was exactly how His heavenly Father would treat anyone who failed to show forgiveness to others. God wants to show us His mercy and forgiveness, but we are then under an obligation to pass it on. It isn’t a choice and it isn’t easy. We need to keep our eyes fixed on the incredible gift of forgiveness that we have received – a gift we could never have deserved. And then in God’s strength we must pass that forgiveness on to others. Question What have You learned from the times when you have forgiven other people? Prayer Lord God, thank You for Your gift of forgiveness. Help me to be ready to pass on that gift to others. Amen
Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. I wonder when you last felt painfully hungry or thirsty. I suspect for most of us that if it has ever happened, it is a distant memory. However, it is likely that Jesus’ hearers would have been very familiar with both. Harvests could be good or bad, and it was impossible to achieve a reliable flow of food. Additionally, in a hot country, people would often have felt desperately thirsty, and finding a good supply of clean water would never have been easy. Jesus wanted His followers to have just this kind of desperate longing for God’s will to be done in the world. Christianity suffers desperately from those who give it merely polite agreement. They live respectable and considerate lives and consider that Christian faith is generally a very good thing. Jesus is looking for something completely different. He wants us to have the same passion for His kingdom as a hungry and thirsty person has for food and drink. He wants our lives to be dominated by the longing to see His will done and for society to be ordered in a way that honours Him. The wonderful promise is that God will answer the prayers of those who have this passionate longing for His kingdom. For as long as we live on this earth, we will be battling with the reality of sin and injustice. They are sadly an inevitable part of a fallen world, but we can be sure that if we hunger and thirst for righteousness, God will satisfy us completely. Question How hungry and thirsty are you for God’s kingdom? Prayer Dear Lord, forgive me for my half-heartedness. Give me a passionate desire to do Your will. Amen