Matthew (NLT) 5: 13 “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. 14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 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. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
I love to keep our cars clean and shiny and I take great effort in making sure everything looks as new as possible and clean just does that. A clean car is a good testimony about care and honor and gratitude. I learned this car cleaning attitude from my dear ole mom. My mom would be feeling terrible and still muster up enough energy to go clean her car and I would marvel at our attitude in keeping that care clean. She had made it a priority and that priority didn’t make allowances for feeling bad that day or being “under the weather” health wise. That car was clean and a great testimony for my mom.
When I clean our cars, I detail the inside, use a brush to get the brake dust off our wheels and do a quick wax all over the outside to really make it shine. One part of the cleaning I usually forget is the inside of the windows, but I soon see they need cleaning and I get those too. It is amazing to me how much my breath can fog up the windows and leave a residue on them after just a little while. If you look out of a window that has the “breath” fog on it, you will not see very clearly and it compromises the view from the inside. I love how it looks after I have just cleaned the inside of the windows and it really makes everything so much cleaner looking as I look out that clean window.
There is an old saying “the eyes are the window to the soul.” That saying was derived from the saying “the eyes are the mirror of the soul” quoted by Cicero and he went on to say “The face is a picture of the mind as the eyes are its interpreter.” Pretty cool stuff and very true. Scripture in Matthew 6:22-23 says it like this. 22 “Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. 23 But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is! So the same way that fog can get on the inside of my car window, a fog can cover our eyes to clarity of God’s instructions for living. When that happens darkness takes over and the light in the Christians eyes can become more dark than light and that darkness is dangerous and much darker than what was noticed.
A good way to keep your inside light from getting darkened is to only allow those things that are Godly and pure be seen by you. Some may ask, “how can I avoid seeing things I shouldn’t see?” Just don’t look!! And don’t put yourself in a position to “see” those thing by practicing avoidance. You really aren’t missing anything anyway, just ask Lot’s wife. She looked back, disobeying God’s command and turned to salt.
In the area of salt….Do you have much flavor in your life? If not, perhaps the darkness is not only affecting your clarity of vision, but it is also affecting your core. You know. the part of you that has reason for everything you do. If your core is messed up, then the flavor of your life will be affected. As a believer Jesus tells us we are the “salt of the earth.” Don’t minimize your role in the world by being a true disciple that has a Christ-bent heart at their core. In other words, everything you do and think and say is all about Jesus and Him alone. When Jesus shines through in our lives it has a great flavor and the depth of our commitment can change situations and lives with great power and depth. The salty taste of your life will be compromised if you let the wrong images in your eyes and look too long at wrong things. Videos that are questionable should be thought of as a no no when trying to develop your inner walk with Jesus. the Bible you read is a constant encouragement to grow in your faith and causes your light to shine brighter and. your flavor to be more salty, reading God’s Word is the base truth for everything.
Clean your windows. When you are about to see something questionable, close the blinds and look away. If you see you are walking down the wrong path, change course and focus on Jesus. Hebrews 12: 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
The Pilgrimage continues….
David Warren
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