It's Wednesday

Dear Friends,

This past Sunday, our church joined with churches around the world to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior. It was a great day, as we enjoyed wonderful worship, followed by a meal with our congregation and folks from the neighborhood. It truly was a day of celebrating “new life” - and my wife and I came home tired, but encouraged by all that we had seen God do.

But, that was Sunday - and today is Wednesday - and unfortunately, I’ve already felt the messages of hope, and life, and forgiveness fading into the background as I move into the routine of my week. I don’t think I’m alone in this, as most of us are packing up Easter decorations, throwing out leftover candy, and focusing on the tasks of this week.

I know without a doubt that this is not what God has for us. He sent His Son to die for us so that we might have new life - and that means we can have a new, resurrected way to live our daily lives. So what does that look like to live a “resurrected life” each and every day? Well, as I pondered that this morning, I realized that my life would look a lot like the way Jesus would be living my life if He was here.

So that means the real question is, if Jesus was living our lives - what would He do? There are all sorts of answers to that question, and a lot of them depend on what’s going on in our lives. But the one thing that stood out to me today that I think applies to all of us is found in Matthew 5:13-16, where Jesus tells us, “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world - like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

In these verses, Jesus tells us we are “salt” and “light” - one is a substance that permeates and transforms food, and the other is one that does the same to darkness. In other words, we are called to have an effect on the world around us. And this doesn’t necessarily mean we have to go be missionaries in far-off lands. It means we have to live our daily lives in such a way that we have an impact on the people around us for God and His Kingdom.

Now, I don’t know about you, but when I think of living my daily life that way, it can feel a little intimidating. It’s much easier to just focus on the tasks I have to do, and hope I can get through the day without sinning. But that’s not what God calls us to - and it’s not why He sent His Son to give us new life. We’re to live fully alive - and fully for Him. So how do we get there? Simple – by relying on the power of the Holy Spirit.

God gave us His Spirit to fully equip us to live how He wants us to live. So as we go through the day, we prayerfully ask Him to guide us by His Spirit - to give us the words to say, the attitudes to have, and the actions to take. And as we do this, God will be faithful to help us live as the salt and light that He calls us to be.

So today, let’s not let the power of the Easter message fade into the background as we get back into our daily routines. Instead, let’s remember that we have resurrected life, and because of that, we can be salt and light to the tasteless and dark world around us.

Amen?

Daniel