(Excerpt from Cheryl Gnagey's Advent Devotional, "Jesus, Light
of the World," for preparing to light the third Advent Candle, the
Good News candle.)
Matthew 5:16
Continuing from yesterday's text we read today about God's further emphasis on the Light within us. 'Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.' Her e is the answer as to how we can let our light, the light of Jesus in us, shine so that others can see Him and come to a saving knowledge of who He is.
We must always be careful when we talk about 'good works.' It is important to remember that it is never our good works that will cover over our sinfulness or help us into heaven. It is only our faith,
our belief in Jesus as the Son o God, and our dependence on Him to
cleanse us of the guilty stains of all the sins we have committed or
will ever commit, that saves us. But to look at good works without
looking at faith, or vise versa, would be incomplete teaching. In James
2: 26 we are told that 'faith without works is dead.' Likewise, good
works without faith is equally dead.
You see, it is not enough that you believe that Jesus is the Son of
God alone. When you accept Him as your personal Savior, and He washes
your sins away, the Spirit enters you, and Jesus begins to live His life through you.
When that happens, you will begin to do more of the kind of things that
Jesus would do. These actions, done through the Spirit inside of you,
are your good works. Where real faith is, you will always find good
works.
On the other hand, there are many people in this world who are kind,
caring, and compassionate, having done a great many good things for
others. But if they have no faith in Jesus, then their good works have
no eternal value. Works with our faith is dead.
There is only one way for men to 'see your good works and glorify the
Father.' The phrase, 'in such a way,' refers to your belief in Jesus
as your Savior and it is coupled with the 'good works' that flow out of
you as a result. If we want to let the light shine out of us, there
must first be Light inside of us. Once we have our salvation nailed
down, then our good works will follow, men will see them, and God will
use them to be glorified when others observe them.
Be we must zero in even more. God is interested in His children spreading His light in dark places.
It is easy to share our light with our brothers and sisters in the
faith. We jump at chances to show love, kindness, mercy, and compassion
to other believers. But since they are already 'of the Light,' there
is no need for salvation to come through those loving acts. But what
about those who do not yet know Jesus intimately?
As we continue to display our love to those in Christ, it is
increasingly important that we begin to do good works for those outside
of the faith. These are the ones to whom we must carry the Light. Look
for ways to lovingly touch the lost this Christmas season.
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