牧者心聲
不要把自己的光掩藏起來
蕭壽華牧師
2023 年 7 月 29 日 / 30 日
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上個月我為一間教會的週年崇拜講道，分享「教會是世上的鹽、世上的光」的信息，自己在預備過程中再領受激勵。
主在登山寶訓中講述了八福後，隨即便清晰明確地指出，神的子民在地上有與別不同的身分——是地上的鹽、世上的光（太五 13-16）。我們是鹽，並非指我們是地上各種食物中的一種，而是與食物分別出來、本質上並不相同的鹽。鹽存在的目的，是要對食物產生影響，要引出食物中的美味（美善），又或是產生防腐的作用。我們是世上的光，光存在的目的，是要照亮四周的人群，驅逐黑暗，叫人活在光明中。基督徒並非要自誇，而是因為基督的光照進我們的生命中，我們成了新造的人，生命的本質真實地成為了地上的鹽、世上的光，可以產生對世界的影響。不單如此，主的話進一步嚴肅地提醒教會，鹽是可以失味的，會變得毫無價值；光也可以被隱藏，不再能照耀別人，使黑暗中的人失去盼望。
鹽怎麼會失去鹽味呢？新約時代的鹽多含有雜質，當鹽分流失，只餘下雜質，「鹽」便沒有味了。屬神的子民和神的教會，若失去了對主的委身，不願意付代價去持守生命中領受了的美善，也就會失去可以影響世界的「鹽味」。主因此告訴他的門徒，人若不願意背十字架、不願愛主過於一切、不願撇下佔據生命的所有去跟從主，便會像鹽失去了味一樣，連最基本用來在田裡除草、或用作肥料的價值也會失去，只好任人踐踏了（路十四 34-35）——「鹽」存在的價值是要去影響食物，我們不要怕付代價影響這個世界，否則我們會失去鹽味，也就是失去自己的生命價值。
我們若是光，便不應被掩藏。人在家中點亮燈以後，不會用黑布掩蓋光源！停電的時候，有人會不肯把洋燭燃點，因怕洋燭會折斷、會燃盡。屬神的人倘若見到世界有需要，而自己手中有力量，但卻不肯前去幫助，那他們就是把自己的光掩藏了；倘若見到別人受冤屈，卻不肯仗義說話，那他們就是把光掩藏了；倘若看見可以分享福音、解釋信仰的機會與需要，卻閉口不言，他們就是把光掩藏了。主吩咐我們不要懼怕，要把光「照在人前」，甚至要高調地讓光照耀出來，叫世界看得見光，這樣便是「把榮耀歸給你們天上的父」了。
今天教會所在的社會，何等渴望嘗到鹽有味，何等渴望在黑暗中見到有光出現！
In the sermon for the anniversary worship service of a church last month, I shared a message on “The Church is the Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World.” I was once again encouraged during the preparation process.
Upon delivering the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord pointed out clearly and explicitly that the people of God have a unique identity on earth – they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Mathew 5:13-16). We are salt. That does not mean we are one kind of food on earth. Rather, we are set apart from the food, we are salt that is different by nature. The purpose of the existence of salt is to make an impact on food, to bring out its flavor (goodness) or be used as a preservative. We are the light of the world. The purpose of the existence of light is to shine on people around us and dispel darkness so that people can live in the light. Christians are not to boast about ourselves. It is because the light of Christ shines into our lives and we become a new creation. The nature of our life truly becomes the salt of the earth and the light of the world and can impact the world. Moreover, the Lord’s word solemnly reminds the church it is possible that salt can lose its saltiness, making it good for nothing. Likewise, light can also be hidden and can no longer shine on others, making people lose hope in the dark.
How can salt lose its saltiness? In New Testament times, the salt carried a lot of impurities. When the elements of salt are lost leaving only the impurities, the "salt" loses its saltiness. If God’s people and God’s church no longer commit to the Lord, and no longer pay the price to keep up the goodness received in life, they will lose the “saltiness” that can impact the world. The Lord therefore told His disciples that if someone is not willing to take up his cross, to love the Lord more than anything else, or to give up everything that fills his life in order to follow the Lord, that person will be like salt that loses its saltiness. Even its basic values for removing weeds and being fertilizers will be lost. It can only be trampled upon (Luke 14:34-35) – The value of the existence of "salt” is to impact food. We should not be afraid of the price to pay for impacting the world. Otherwise, we will lose our saltiness and thus the value of our lives.
If we are light, we should not be hidden. If someone lights up a lamp in the house, he will not use black cloth to cover up the source of the light! In times of power outage, some people would not light a candle for fear that it will break or will burn out. If the people of God see the needs in this world but would not use the capacities they have to help, then they are hiding their light. If they see people suffering injustices but would not speak out, then they are hiding their light. If God’s people see opportunities and needs to share the gospel or explain their faith but would say nothing, they are hiding their light. The Lord has asked us not to fear but let our light “shine before others,” even shine in a high-profile manner, so the world can see it. That will be the way to "glorify your Father in heaven." How today's society where the church thirsts for the taste of salt and for light to shine in darkness!
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