I sit here writing this post in the dark because our home’s electricity is faulty and of course I’m reading about the light of the world! God’s sense of timing and humor is perfect because faulty lighting is a great example of what a lot of Christians are guilty of doing, including myself.
In Matthew 5:13-16, God calls us to be the salt and light of the earth. It seems like a silly and easy thing to do, but I find it easier to hide my faith and not stretch my faith. This trip has been convicting me so much because it is so easy to witness to the people of Swaziland with no fear of rejection, their opinion, or seeing them again. When I think about my life at home, I know that my light doesn’t shine nearly as bright as it should be because of my fears and weaknesses.
Later in Matthew 6:19-24, it talks about not storing up treasures on earth because they are temporary. God wants our hearts, so wherever our treasure is then our heart will be there also. In the passage, it says that our eyes are the lamp of the body, so if we have healthy eyes then we will be full of light! I’ve been learning not to store up earthly treasures and focus my eyes on the Lord, so that I will be full of light all the time not just when I’m in a foreign country.
I have been able to be a light in Swaziland which has been so encouraging in my spiritual walk, but realizing my boldness in my faith isn’t the same back home. God first calls us to be missionaries in our community at home before we can go to the ends of the earth to spread the Gospel. My materialism in life has been my stumbling block for not building relationships and trying to witness to the people in my community back home. God calls us to be missionaries wherever we are in life, not just to foreign countries. I think as Christians we get so complacent with our faith because we have fed into the lie that witnessing to non-believers is up to pastors, evangelists, and missionaries. In all reality, the most influential part of the body of Christ is the every day believers who strive to be more Christ-like in every aspect of life.
My challenge for anyone reading this is to realize that God will use you wherever you are in life if you are willing to follow His calling for your life. God uses the weak to show us His strength through us which I think is the most amazing thing about God.
