Demand #47 – Let Your Light Shine before Others That They May Glorify Your Father who is in Heaven
You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
—Matt. 5:13-16
Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.
—Mark 9:50
As I think about this command I’m not sure that I ever had any concrete idea of what was being demanded. Even at the beginning of thinking about it I’d have to say that it isn’t just “be nice so people think nice things about God” but I’m afraid some of that might creep into a day to day approach. We are told to glorify God by letting our light shine. We’ll look at specifics and try to get a better understanding from Scripture of exactly what is being demanded here.
Jesus’ First Passion and Supreme Value
When Jesus taught us to pray, the first thing He taught us was to pray that we should pray that God’s name was hallowed. In other words, we should seek to see the Father’s name glorified first. We want holiness manifested and God’s glory shining in our lives. The word for hallowed is built on the word for glory. We want His name hallowed first in our hearts and also then in our family, church, nation, and world.
Consequently when we adopt the position of hallowing God’s name we are aligned with Jesus’ passion to see God’s name hallowed and then we begin to show that the Glory of God is the most valuable thing in the universe. His infinite perfection and infinite purity produce or manifest or radiate a real thing that is the Glory of God.
We see in part an expected progressive growth or awareness of God’s holiness in Leviticus 10:1-3, “Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘This is what the LORD has said, “Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.”’” These two guys did not obey God. They decided to do their own thing and that God would somehow be pleased anyway. As a priests in your home then you much treat God as holy in all you do and then everyone who knows you will see God glorified in your life. If you pursue sin or excuse sin in your life then you do not hallow God’s name and you do not glorify God in your life. Once again we run into the process of sanctification in our lifes.
What Is the Glory of God?
It is quite difficult to use words to establish what “glory” is. In relation to God in His perfection when we in our fallen and sinful state try to describe His glory, I’m afraid it is more than difficult. But we can at least begin by acknowledging that there is a real product (His glory) of God’s perfections that are infinite in quantity and infinite in quality. In particular His moral perfection and my sinful depravity apart from Him are frightening. If you meditate on His glory then you should once again realize that the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge.
We can perhaps begin to get a handle on this in a small way if we, “Consider the lilies of the field. . . . Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. . . . God so clothes the grass of the field” (Matt. 6:28-30). So God gave us things like this to help. The lilies of the field are giving you a stepping stone. Pat got some iris blooms yesterday and as we were driving home she was simply staring at them and saying how much she liked them. I reminded her of Oregon when we would take a ride and see wild iris in fields along the road. The “perfection” we see in those things helps us connect the concept of perfection to glory and our appreciation of it. For me, orchids produce such perfect blossoms that I stare at their “glory”. I also love the “glory” of desert, mountain, sea, … they are each different but when I go the wilderness I really don’t want anything to mar the “glory” of that particular place. Wildlife in their natural places also speak to this issue. Even domestic animals in their place have a “glory” that we can enjoy. It is, in part, why we enjoy watching sports. As Piper points out, we really do like to look at glory. We were created to enjoy seeing it. And Jesus came into the world to more fully show us the glory of God. He showed us the glory of God more fully than nature ever had otherwise. John 1:14 says “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” In particular, these teaching of His commands and His life given for our atonement reveal God in His perfections of mercy and grace in ways that we would not learn from nature. John 3:19-21 says, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God.” When you are “in God” you do “what is true” in the light for God’s glory.
How Jesus Glorified God
At the end of His life, Jesus prayed, “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do” (John 17:4). Scripture records that God’s glory and the people glorifying God was the product of Christ’s living His life (John 2:11; Matt. 9:8; Matt. 15:31; Luke 17:15; Luke 13:13; John 11:40).
The atonement is the most striking of all the aspects of God’s glory that Jesus revealed. In Christ’s substitutionary atonement the guiltless died for the guilty. The perfect wrath of God was shown, His perfection, His justice, His love, His mercy, and His Grace were revealed. Jesus said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:23). Both the suffering and the resurrection show God’s perfection and glory. Jesus said, “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:26).
The Father and the Son Glorify Each Other
Jesus said, “Now [in this very hour of suffering] is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once” (John 13:31) and “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you” (John 17:1; 12:27-28). The Light was blazing at that point. The Trinity’s perfections, infinite in quantity and quality, were shown to our finite minds for our salvation.
No Greater Love than God’s Glorifying Himself in Jesus for Us
So the Trinity displayed their glory clearly in the atonement so we could see it, find our highest satisfaction in it, and also be forgiven for not treasuring God’s glory. Jesus said that, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. . . . He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:13-14). The Holy Spirit works to open your eyes to the glory of the Father and the Son out of love for you (John 3:3, 8; Matt. 16:17).
Demand #48 – Let Your Light Shine before Others – The Joyful Sacrifice of Love in Suffering
Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
—Matt. 5:11-16
In what ways then would we expect to act as we seek to “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). God is saying that our lives should be beautiful and point to His glory.
Shine with the Light That You Are
Jesus said, “You are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14). The heart change produced by the Holy Spirit works to produce an outward change. The works are not the light. Even skilled hypocrisy will not shine the light of God. Duh! Right? Well then why is that such a popular well to draw from? In humility, let God direct your life and actions so that the works are His and He is glorified. Hypocrisy is the easier road but it doesn’t go where you need to go.
What Actually Is the Light That People See?
So to get at the meaning of being “the light of the world” we can look close in Scripture and back up to see the Beatitudes in which we learn that blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those who suffer for righteousness’ sake (Matt. 5:3-10). This is really different from the typical point of view expressed in secular culture and even generally in religious culture. The verse closest to our command says “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:11-12). But it makes sense in context with the other verses. When you truly shine from a passion for God’s glory then you get a response to the light. Those God calls will like the light and others will not like the light. So you can rejoice when you are falsely accused for His sake because you are actually lit up with His light! No strange fire (like Nadab and Abihu from Leviticus 10) on the altar but the light of the Holy Spirit. So it is good when we understand what is happening. So given the proximity to the verse on being salt and light you’d suggest that our response to hardship will be the general way in which we produce light and serve as salt. Our treasure is in heaven so our lives should reflect that fact (Matt. 5:12). When natural pleasures are removed, we still have our treasure and our life should show it. Those in the world will see it, the Holy Spirit will move on hearts, and then people will give glory to our Father in heaven (Matt. 5:16).
Of course we don’t just do works. We also speak and minister in various ways (Matt. 10:7-8; Luke 9:2; 10:9; Matt. 24:14).
Is the Glory of God an “Ulterior Motive” for Love?
In Matthew 5:16 Jesus says, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” I think we need to clearly see that when our light shines, in obedience to God, that our works are seen. We are not manipulating but loving when we yield to God. I know that we sometimes want to do “X” and get “Y” but in this process of living for God the response is a product of the Holy Spirit and we can’t manipulate or control Him or the process. Your light shines in this world so they may be seen. We want to see someone respond to our obedience because that is a loving attitude. It is not manipulation and we can’t manipulate anyone an inch closer to heaven.
Jesus Loved Us by Obtaining for Us at the Cost of His Life God’s Glory
The One who created the universe only asked if He could avoid one job. That one job was suffering the price for your sins but He told the Father, not My will but Thine be done. He refused to pray, “Father, save me from this hour” because that hour was why He came into this world. Instead He prayed, “Father glorify Your name.” He prayed, “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory.” That attitude and value of God’s glory doesn’t make sense to a fallen man. But if your reward is in heaven it makes perfect sense. Don’t let your flesh, the enemy of your soul, or the cares of this life cause you to forget where your treasure and values are.
Letting Our Light Shine, Like Jesus, in the Way We Die
You know sometimes Piper is more thorough than I care for. He brought up a point that I don’t have any real desire to spend too much time thinking about. That point is that we are called to let our light shine in the way we die. Just as Jesus spent His final days and hours glorifying God we should too. Jesus told Peter (where John could hear) “‘Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.’ (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God)” (John 21:18). God expects you to die like a disciple. Hank Williams wrote a song titled “I’ll Never Get Out of this World Alive”
Now you're lookin' at a man that's gettin' kind a mad
I had lots of luck but it's all been bad
No matter how I struggle and strive
I'll never get out of this world alive.
It is sad to hear the words of someone who speaks about eternity without speaking the truth. God is sovereign. Luck is a term we use to explain our ignorance. The term is useful for making decisions sometimes but everything is in God’s hands and not one atom in the universe is off on its own course outside God’s knowledge. Our struggle and strife are temporary in this world and while we will die the real problem Hank had was that he was going to get out of the world alive to stand before the judgment seat of God. As a disciple, you are called on to live and die in a way that glorifies God.
Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:29-31). From that Scripture I would generally say, “See how God cares for me and will be present in all the details of my life” and that is true. However, Piper is right, that the point is that God ordains every sparrow’s death and every death of a hair follicle on my head and will ordain the day of my death. Not as cheery as my natural take but truth nonetheless.
Jesus’ Light and Ours at His Second Coming
For those of you hoping for an early rapture, “The Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father . . . all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. . . . Then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory” (Matt. 16:27; 24:30; 25:31, KJV). We will then shine like the sun in the kingdom of our Father (Matthew 13:43) as an eternal occupation as we explore the infinite quality and quantity of God’s perfections and enjoy Him forever. Apart from what God is doing in your heart now, you would not survive the exposure to God’s glory that you’ll someday rejoice to live in. Moses (Exodus 33:18) asked to see God’s glory and God said that no man can and live but He let Moses see just a bit of his back. And Moses face shown so that he scared the other children of Israel and he had to cover his face.
The Bright Demand
The bottom line is that today, right now, in your life you are commanded to find Christ all-satisfying as you dwell in and meditate on His glory. He forbids you to trust in things other than Him and commands that your treasure be outside this world. And He commands you to show His glory as you become a light so that others would see and enjoy His glory in you and come to Him.
We are in desperate of His enabling Grace. As Augustine prayed, “Grant what thou commandest and then command what thou wilt.”
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