True Happiness - Matthew 5:1-16

“You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:13-14)

If Cheesemakers* can be blessed then so can Chartered Surveyors, Cherry Pickers, Chiropodists, Vice Chancellors and even Church workers.  How?  By becoming a disciple of Jesus.  The Beatitudes of Matthew chapter five are not nine easy steps to attain God’s blessing.  They’re not a checklist of demands to fulfil before God grants us happiness.  The Beatitudes describe the kind of joy already present in the lives of those who follow Jesus.

If these blessings can’t be attained by virtue of gender, race, age, personality profession or performance, then who are these people?  Apparently they’re anyone who is poor; anyone who mourns; anyone who uses any power they have for others not themselves; anyone who is desperate to do the right thing however costly that is; anyone who is merciful; anyone who is pure not just in action but in motivation too; anyone who doesn’t just avoid violence but actively intervenes to make peace; and anyone who is misunderstood, unappreciated, slandered or persecuted.  Given that most of us go to great lengths to avoid these very things, perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised at our lack of familiarity with LOVE’s blessing.

LOVE’s way of doing things is counter-cultural.  In Jesus’ time salt was used to flavour, preserve, cleanse and heal.  Jesus’ followers are to have the same influence upon whatever world they find themselves in.  We’re to bring out the fullness of life for all.  We’re to preserve godliness, justice and mercy.  We’re to drive out darkness and evil wherever we can.  We’re to bring healing and wholeness to all those who need it.  Jim Wallis writes in the seminal book, Call to Conversion that, “Faith is always personal but never private.”  Our influence on society is to be very public: we’re to shine with LOVE.

Let’s give thanks to LOVE today for the great saints who have gone before us, showing us how to be salt and light.  Recall some of your spiritual heroes and give thanks for their example: perhaps people like William Wilberforce, Florence Nightingale, William Booth, Evangeline Cory Booth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Rosa Parks, Amy Carmichael, Martin Luther King Jnr, Mother Teresa, Henrietta C. Mears, John Wimber and Billy Graham.  None of them were perfect but we can give thanks and be inspired that they endeavoured to stand for Christian values and put them in to action on behalf of others in the face of great opposition.  Today, let’s ask LOVE for the same faith, hope and LOVE.

“let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

*A reference to Monty Python’s Life of Brian. No offence intended.