Posted by
Jack on Thursday, November 23, 2006 2:39:06 PM
Today's Command from Jesus
"Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)
The
disciple's primary means of communication is his life. His message is
first to be communicated visually. It is not necessary that we be great
public speakers. But it is necessary that we be great doers of "good deeds." It
may be easier to stand on a street corner and preach than to give our
neighbor a ride to the store. It may be easier to hand out a tract than
to help our neighbor move their refrigerator. Our life should be such
that others around us notice that we are different. Watching the
neighbor's kids or fixing their computer is our sermon. .
Jesus said to His disciples, "You are the light of the world." (Matthew 5:14) Our presence should be such that we shed light upon our world. It is our "good deeds"
that light up the world around us. Blessed are those who live next door
to a disciple of Jesus. They know that they are not alone. They have
someone they can call if the need arises. Woe to those who have no one
around them who they can count on to call when in need.
Many opportunities to do "good deeds" come at inconvenient times. Our neighbor's call for help is usually during dinner or a TV football game. "Good deeds" costs us something. We have to interrupt our lives for the sake of others.
The disciple does not need to wait for someone to call out for help. Nor do the recipients of our "good deeds" have to be in need. Simple things like baking a pie and taking it over to our neighbor can speak volumes.
Our "good deeds" should be such that the praise goes to our Father in heaven and not to ourselves. Jesus later tells His disciples, "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men to be seen by them" (Matthew 6:1) It is rather tacky, and noticed by all, when we begin to promote our "good deeds."
To bring up our neighbor's financial need in a prayer meeting and just
happen to mention that we have been giving them food and clothing is a
rather sneaky way of promoting our "good deeds."
We should not serve food at a shelter in hopes that our picture will be
shown on the evening news. Nor should we expect a college building to
be named for us because we made a large donation. Those who do their "good deeds" and receive no public recognition will be rewarded in heaven. But those who do it for the praise of men "have received their reward in full." (Matthew 6:2) Jesus reminds His disciples that "Your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." (Matthew 6:3)
Before
we begin to focus on our verbal communication skills to make disciples,
we must first deal with our visible lives. You may have seen this quote
before, "What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say."
This blog will be up dated daily. Make this a favorite so
that you can check in to see one of the commands of Jesus that you can
begin to practice in your own life.