“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
I am to do works that are seen by men. There are a host of dangers in obeying this command, not the least of which is doing anything for praise from men rather than praise from God. The solution to this problem is here in the verse, do these good works “in such a way” that they bring glory and praise to God. How do I do this? If I consider doing a good work, for instance giving food to the poor, I can potentially have any number of motivations for this work that do not have anything to do with God. I can be trying to salve my conscience. I might want to be seen as a good person. If I were politically motivated, it could be a means of building my community service resume. I could also be truly concerned for the condition of poverty and desire to relieve it, without any view to God’s glory in it. With so many possible motivations in my heart behind a particular good work, how are others who might see this good work to see God’s glory in it, and give praise to the Father? There needs to be a way (in such a way) that can distinguish every good work I may do from the many good works done every day by people who care nothing about God. My works need to be different. They need to be done in such a way that God’s glorious nature is manifest, seen, and praised.
Here a connection with Psalm 66:1-2 might be helpful. “Shout joyfully to God, all the earth; sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious.” How do I make His praise glorious? Certainly I am not making it glorious in the sense of creating something. I’m not making it something it is not already. God’s praise is glorious. I’m not making it more glorious, rather I manifest, declare, make visible, the gloriousness that it is. In the Psalm this manifestation, this making visible, is through joyful shouts and singing. That is a way to do something so that my Father in heaven is seen as the glorious God He is.
I need to do good works. But doing a particular good work, will not, in itself, fulfill Jesus’s charge to me in this verse. My good works must be seen. Being seen does not fulfill it either, for they must be seen “in such a way” that my Father’s praise is made glorious. So accompanying all of my works must be a verbalization, an attestation, a declaration, a signifying in some way, the gloriousness of God’s praise. Here, for me, all striving for mechanisms must end. I feel it would be too dangerous to start to line up techniques for such declarations. I fear such an attempt might result in outward signs without inward reality. I fear that my solution to this need, to visibly make God’s praise glorious in every good work, might be to put a fish on my car, or a bumper sticker. These might be fine things to do, but personally I fear that such an effort, if intended to fulfill the command to manifest the praise of God’s glory, would be hollow or superficial. Rather, God’s praise and God’s glory must be felt in my heart if God is truly to be glorified in my life. Such genuineness of heartfelt praise must exist for expressions of praise to be complete. Such expressions of God’s praise must accompany the good works people see in my life so that they can see and praise the glory of God.
Lord, make your praise glorious in my life and in my heart. Make it full and real and powerful. Let it overflow in every good work to the praise of your glory.
{ 0 comments… add one now }