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Salt & Light of World
Witness
by Life
Jesus stressed the positive
effect we can have on others when he said
“Let your light so shine before men
that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in
heaven.” But if sin dims our testimony so that our “light” is no longer
visible
some of those might have influenced for Christ may drift on in
spiritual darkness.
On
a dark and stormy night
with waves piling up like mountains on Lake Erie
a
boat rocked and plunged near the Cleveland harbor. “Are we on course?” asked
the captain
seeing only one beacon from the lighthouse. “Quite sure
sir
”
replied the officer at the helm. “Where are the lower lights?” “Gone out
sir.”
“Can we make the harbor?” “We must
or perish!” came the reply. With a steady
hand and a stalwart heart
the officer headed the ship toward land.
But
in the darkness
he missed the channel and the vessel was dashed to pieces on
the rocks. Many lives were lost in a watery grave. This incident moved Philip
P. Bliss to write the familiar hymn
“Let the Lower Lights Be Burning.” ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
Good
Example
Imagine
that you're walking through your neighborhood supermarket when you approach a
display featuring a new kind of shoe polish. The attending salesperson grabs
your attention with a big smile
and before you can politely move on to the
peanut butter you get the following line: "This miracle of modern science
will bring luster to dull leather and prolong the life of your shoes. Its secret lies in the rare mixture of
oils extracted from the bone marrow of a sperm whale. The result is so good that if your
neighbor runs out of polish
you won't be embarrassed to lend him yours. Sure it costs more -- $3.75 for a small
can. But you really can't afford
not to buy it." Up to this
point you've been patient with him.
But now you've had your fill.
So you say
"I'm sure you believe in your fancy wax. But so what! From what I can see
your shoe polish
doesn't do any better job than the brand I usually buy for $3.00 less. If what you're selling is so great
why
do your shoes look no different than mine?
Our efforts to interest others in the Christian life are sometimes just
as unconvincing. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
Few things are
harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.
Mark Twain.
One Sunday
morning in 1865
a black man entered a fashionable church in Richmond
Virginia. When Communion was served
he walked down the aisle and knelt at the
altar. A rustle of resentment swept the congregation. How dare he! After all
believers in that church used the common cup. Suddenly a distinguished layman
stood up
stepped forward to the altar
and knelt beside the black man. With
Robert E. Lee setting the example
the rest of the congregation soon followed
his lead.
Today in the
Word
September
1991
p. 15.
During the Nazi
occupation of his country in WWII
King Christian X of Denmark noticed a Nazi
flag flying over a Danish public building. He immediately called the German
commandant
demanding that the flag be taken down at once. The commandant
refused. "Then a soldier will go and take it down." said the king.
"He will be shot
" threatened the commandant. "I think
not
" replied the king
"for I shall be the soldier." Within
minutes the flag was taken down.
Today in the
Word
MBI
August
1991
p. 13.
A man's life is
always more forcible than his speech. When men take stock of him they reckon
his deeds as dollars and his words as pennies. If his life and doctrine
disagree the mass of onlookers accept his practice and reject his
preaching.
C.H. Spurgeon.
For many years
Monterey
a California coast town
was a pelican's paradise. As the fishermen
cleaned their fish
they flung the offal to the pelicans. The birds grew fat
lazy
and contented. Eventually
however the offal was utilized
and there were
no longer snacks for the pelicans. When the change came the pelicans made no effort
to fish for themselves. They waited around and grew gaunt and thin. Many
starved to death. They had forgotten how to fish for themselves. The problem
was solved by importing new pelicans from the south
birds accustomed to
foraging for themselves. They were placed among their starving cousins
and the
newcomers immediately started catching fish. Before long
the hungry pelicans
followed suit
and the famine was ended.
Bits &
Pieces
June 23
1994
p. 17.
Bill Hybels
related a story of integrity in Leadership Magazine. It illustrates
proper humility in a leader. One evening I stopped by the church just to
encourage those who were there rehearsing for the spring musical. I didn't
intent to stay long
so I parked my car next to the entrance. After a few
minutes
I ran back to my car and drove home.
The next
morning I found a note in my office mailbox. It read: A small thing
but
Tuesday night when you came to rehearsal
you parked in the "No
Parking" area. A reaction from one of my crew (who did not recognize you
after you got out of your car) was
"There's another jerk in the 'No
Parking' area!" We try hard not to allow people -- even workers -- to park
anywhere other than the parking lots. I would appreciate your cooperation
too.
It was signed by a member of our maintenance staff.
(This man's)
stock went up in my book because he had the courage to write to me about what
could have been a slippage in my character. And he was right on the mark. As I
drove up that night
I had thought
I shouldn't park here
but after all
I am
the pastor. That translates: "I'm an exception to the rules." But
that employee wouldn't allow me to sneak down the road labeled "I'm an
exception." I'm not the exception to church rules or any of God's rules.
Exemplary conduct means encouraging others to imitate us
even in the small
matters.
Paul Borthwick
Leading the Way
Navpress
1989
pp. 57-58.
I'm not much of
a gardener. Once I took a seed catalog and started out the door. "Where
are you going with that?" my wife asked. "I'm going to show it to my
tomatoes
" I explained.
Source Unknown.
A brief
simple
but expressive eulogy was pronounce by Martin Luther upon a pastor at
Zwickau in 1522 named Nicholas Haussmann. "What we preach
he lived
"
said the great reformer.
Martin Luther.
I would not
give much for your religion unless it can be seen. Lamps do not talk
but they
do shine.
Source Unknown.
When Gen.
George C. Marshall took command of the Infantry School at Fort Benning
GA
he
found the post in a generally run-down condition. Rather than issue orders for
specific improvements
he simply got out his own paintbrushes
lawn equipment
etc.
and went to work on his personal quarters. The other officers and men
first on his block
then throughout the post
did the same thing
and Fort
Benning was brightened up. Leadership by example.
Source Unknown.
To have
unquestioned reliance upon a pastor or other spiritual leader can lead to
embarrassment and even bitter disillusionment. I was reminded of this recently
when I came across an interesting item about President Coolidge. Once he
invited some friends from Vermont to dine at the White House. They were worried
about their table manners
so they decided to do everything their host did. All
went well until coffee was served. Coolidge poured his into the saucer. The
guests did the same. The President added sugar and cream. So did the visitors.
Then Coolidge leaned over and placed his saucer on the floor for the cat.
Source Unknown.
Years ago the
communist government in China commissioned an author to write a biography of
Hudson Taylor with the purpose of distorting the facts and presenting him in a
bad light. They wanted to discredit the name of this consecrated missionary of
the gospel. As the author was doing his research
he was increasingly impressed
by Taylor's saintly character and godly life
and he found it extremely
difficult to carry out his assigned task with a clear conscience. Eventually
at the risk of losing his life
he laid aside his pen
renounced his atheism
and received Jesus as his personal Savior. Whether we realize it or not
our
example leaves an impression on others.
Source Unknown.
When I was a
small boy
I attended church every Sunday at a big Gothic Presbyterian bastion
in Chicago. The preaching was powerful and the music was great. But for me
the
most awesome moment in the morning service was the offertory
when twelve
solemn
frock-coated ushers marched in lock-step down the main aisle to receive
the brass plates for collecting the offering. These men
so serious about their
business of serving the Lord in this magnificent house of worship
were the
business and professional leaders of Chicago. One of the twelve ushers was a
man named Frank Loesch. He was not a very imposing looking man
but in Chicago
he was a living legend
for he was the man who had stood up to Al Capone. In
the prohibition years
Capone's rule was absolute. The local and state police
and even the Federal Bureau of Investigation were afraid to oppose him. But single
handedly
Frank Loesch
as a Christina layman and without any government
support
organized the Chicago Crime Commission
a group of citizens who were
determined to take Mr. Capone to court and put him away. During the months that
the Crime Commission met
Frank Loesch's life was in constant danger. There
were threats on the lives of his family and friends. But he never wavered.
Ultimately he won the case against Capone and was the instrument for removing
this blight from the city of Chicago. Frank Loesch had risked his life to live
out his faith. Each Sunday at this point of the service
my father
a Chicago
businessman himself
never failed to poke me and silently point to Frank Loesch
with pride. Sometime I'd catch a tear in my father's eye. For my dad and for
all of us this was and is what authentic living is all about.
Bruce Larson
in Charles Swindoll
Living Above the Level of Mediocrity
p.124-5.
Percentage of
American teens who say they want to be like their parents: 39%.
Charis Conn
Ed.
What Counts: The Complete Harper's Index.
Children who
see physical violence between their parents are six times more likely to abuse
their own spouses after they marry. If those children were also hit by their
parents as teenagers
they are 12 times more likely to abuse their
spouses.
Bottom Line
in
Homemade
November
1985.
A study once
disclosed that if both Mom and Dad attend church regularly
72% of their
children remain faithful. If only Dad
55% remain faithful. If only Mom
15%.
If neither attended regularly
only 6% remain faithful. The statistics speak
for themselves--the example of parents and adults is more important than all
the efforts of the church and Sunday School.
Warren Mueller
in Homemade
May
1990.
Sodium is an extremely active element
found naturally only in combined form; it always links itself to another
element. Chlorine
on the other hand
is the poisonous gas that gives bleach
its offensive odor. When sodium and chlorine are combined
the result is sodium
chloride--common table salt--the substance we use to preserve meat and bring
out its flavor. Love and truth can be like sodium and chlorine. Love without
truth is flighty
sometimes blind
willing to combine with various doctrines.
On the other hand
truth by itself can be offensive
sometimes even poisonous.
Spoken without love
it can turn people away from the gospel. When truth and
love are combined in an individual or a church
however
then we have what
Jesus called "the salt of the earth
" and we're able to preserve and
bring out the beauty of our faith.
David H. Johnson.