We’ve been looking this week at Genesis 12: 1-5 and Matthew 5: 13-16, exploring what is happening behind the text and the words on the page. Today I’d like to talk about what these words actually can mean to us in the living of our lives.

These two passages are so important in the formation of covenant communities.  For the Old Covenant, this is a HUGE moment. This is the moment when God calls Abraham.  This is the birth moment of the Jewish people, the moment in scripture when we see that it is faith that leads to obedience that pleases God.   But notice who is blessed by this faith.  Not just Abraham, but all nations.  Everyone will be blessed by what he has done.  In Matthew we see Jesus, after giving us the Beatitudes, tell us that we are to be a city on a hill, shining a light for all people to see.

In this, we see the great purpose of the calling of God, both in the Old and the New covenants.  It is not, in the end, about us.  It is about them.  It is about us being obedient to God’s call in our lives and that call leads us into a relationship with those who need to know about God’s grace.  All the world is blessed through Abraham.  The church is a city on a hill for all to see. We exist, we are here, so all the world can know the goodness and the love of God. We exist, not for ourselves, but for God and to show His love to all.

We’ve talked about the different things that we are rooted in this year. Rooted in vision, in giving, in prayer.  We are also rooted in relationships, we are rooted in mission. We don’t exist for ourselves. We exist so that all the world can know the goodness of God. We exist to point others to God.  We exist so that through the grace of God and our lives, all the world can come to a saving knowledge of Jesus.

We don’t exist for our own lives. We exist to point others to Jesus.  We live so that all the world can know. We are a light. We are salt. We are here to make a difference for the kingdom. We are here to shine for Jesus.

Today, don’t live just for yourself.  Your wants, desires, or even dreams.  Live to shine the light of Jesus for the world to see.  In doing that, you’ll find a greater purpose than anything else you could ever dream of. The people of God have always, always, always living on mission for the kingdom.  Today, may His light shine through us for the world to know Him.

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