That They May See

That They May See

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

There is something that we must not forget: namely, that we are debtors to all people in the matter of seeing our good works. I am a debtor to all men. Rom. 1:14. “Owe no one anything except to love one another . . . .” Rom. 13:8. We can never pay enough on this debt; there will always be an opportunity to love more. What are these good works that others shall see? They shall see that we are doing God’s will and not our own. “A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand . . . .” Matt. 5:14-15.

What does it mean to put the lamp under a basket? It means that you are doing yours or other people’s will. We shall not live for the lusts of men. 1 Pet. 4:2.

For example, you are with a person who does not love the light. Then the temptation is to put the light away or to act the way the other person likes it. By acting that way, you think you are being good to the other person. This is a double deception. First you deceive yourself and then your neighbor. Letting the light shine requires that you fight the fight of faith that leads to victory and progress for yourself; and the one who sees it gets to see what it is all about: seeing your good works. You have made a payment on your debt, and that makes you happy.

We are not called to please men according to the flesh; doing so only gives us the reputation of not being God’s servants. Gal. 1:10.

We also indebted to people when it comes to letting them see that we are one just as Christ and the Father are one. John 17:21-23.

If anyone who is on the outside discovers something wrong with anyone in the church, that shall not put a wedge between us. We have been made one in Christ and shall grow together until we will be perfectly one.

The lowliest receives the greatest honor, and the greatest is everyone’s servant. Let the poor man glory in his exaltation, and the rich man in his lowliness. There is equality in the church. In the church we experience what all men fight for but never achieve. If those on the outside want to test it, they will discover that it is true, and that will give them an opportunity to believe in God.

Each of all the sects and denominations with their names is a glaring contrast to what God wants.

I wonder if the time has not come to see the futility of all this fragmentation among the believers, because on the cross Christ has made all believers one—to be one new man, and oneness will missionize more than anything else.