YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH. BUT IF THE SALT LOSES ITS SALTINESS, HOW CAN IT BE MADE SALTY AGAIN? IT IS NO LONGER GOOD FOR ANYTHING, EXCEPT TO BE THROWN OUT AND TRAMPLED BY MEN.
YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. A CITY SET ON A HILL CANNOT BE HIDDEN. NEITHER DO PEOPLE LIGHT A LAMP AND PUT IT UNDER A BOWL. INSTEAD THEY PUT IT ON ITS STAND, AND IT GIVES LIGHT TO EVERYONE IN THE HOUSE. IN THE SAME WAY, LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE BEFORE MEN, THAT THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD DEEDS AND PRAISE YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN (MATTHEW 5:13-16).
TODAY’S DEVOTION
God did not place us on Earth as His people just so we could start getting ready to leave. He placed us here to plant and reproduce gardens of His Kingdom throughout the world, thereby reclaiming and transforming territory laid waste by the pretender’s rapacious rule.…
Religion separates and isolates. The Kingdom engages. Just as a farmer sows his seed, so the King sprinkles His Kingdom citizens everywhere with an abundant harvest in mind. He is saying, “I am throwing you out; wherever you land, infect that place for Me. Don’t isolate yourself. Don’t stay away from folks who are not in the Kingdom. Get involved. Engage. Make an impact where you are. Be bold in My strength to confront the earthly powers of this present age. The world will soon see who is more powerful.” The Kingdom of Heaven is not afraid of evil, and we who are its citizens need not fear it either, because the One who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world (see 1 John 4:4).
(God’s Big Idea, Chapter Nine)
CONSIDERATIONS
1. Write a brief thought about each of the following statements:
God assigned us to reintroduce the Kingdom to the world.
God assigned us to repossess the Earth with the Kingdom.
God assigned us to engage the world system.
God assigned us to influence the world, not to keep up with it.
2. Write a brief thought about each of the following statements:
God assigned us to infect the world, not reject the world.
God assigned us to revolutionize the world.
God assigned us to occupy the Earth, not abandon it.
God assigned us to promote the government of Heaven on Earth.
MEDITATION
As Jesus explained to His disciples later, the man who sowed the good seed represents the Son of Man, Jesus Himself; the enemy who sowed the weeds is the devil; the good seed represents children of the Kingdom, and the weeds, children of the devil (see Matt. 13:37-39).
The point I want us to understand here is that the wheat and the weeds—the children of the Kingdom and the children of the devil—are allowed to grow together until the harvest, which is the end of time. In other words, Kingdom citizens mingle with citizens of the world throughout history, and this is by the King’s design. He has chosen deliberately to leave His children in the world, in the midst of the “weeds,” so that we can make a difference in the lives of those weeds.
In strictly human terms, we all know that a weed cannot change into a stalk of wheat, but in God’s Kingdom nothing is impossible. By His power working in and through the lives and influence of His people, God can convert useless weeds into purposeful wheat. He can transform dark, confused, broken, and unproductive people into persons full of purpose, abundant life, and fulfilled destiny. But He cannot work through us for this purpose unless we are in the world and among the weeds. That is the concept behind the Kingdom principle of engagement.
(God’s Big Idea, Chapter Nine)
How willing are you to engage some weeds for the purpose of establishing His Garden?