Showing Your Faith

You know, one of the best ways, one of the keys to being an effective life saver, we probably learned, oh, kindergarten or first grade. I mean, we were not very far into school when the teacher introduced to us, show and tell. Remember that? You're supposed to bring something from home and show it and tell about it. And in almost every, we're probably, what, kindergarten first grade when we started that and probably every show and tell, there had to be at least one hamster in that demonstration in that class. And you couldn't just tell about your hamster, you know, you couldn't just come in and say, have this furry little animal that lives in my house, you live in a cage with salt dust in the bottom of it. It spends a lot of time running around this little wheel that doesn't go anywhere, his name is Sniffles and he has bad teeth. You know, you couldn't just say that. You had to bring him and show him. But it wasn't enough just to bring Sniffles and show him either. You couldn't just bring the cage and say, you had to tell about Sniffles as well. So it was show and tell, both were important. I believe God is interested in us being show and tell kinds of Christians. Not just telling people about our faith and about our Savior, but showing them that he's made a difference in our lives, that he really means something that is genuine and what we're talking about is real. The show part is very important, but you can't have just the show without the tell. We have to tell people the gospel too. It's not like somebody is going to watch us for 50 years and say, you know, Frank was a great person, just a very kind and generous, good person. And I think that means Jesus died for my sins on the cross and I need to get saved. That's probably not going to happen. So there's both the show and tell part of the Christian faith. We must tell others the gospel, but we must also back it up with the way we live and show them what it means to be saved. I believe that God believes in show and tell when it comes to communicating our faith, when it comes to sharing with other people the gospel. Today, I want us to look at the show part of that formula show and tell. Next week we'll look at the tell part of show and tell, but this morning it's all about showing our faith, about what it means to live out our faith so that people can see in us what it means to be a Christian, what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. So I want us to begin this morning with some biblical pictures of showing your faith. Jesus gave us two of them in Matthew chapter 5. So if you please open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 5, we're going to look at two biblical pictures of what it means to show our faith, to live out our faith. Jesus says first of all in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 13 that we are salt. Look at verse 13. He says, you are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled by men. So Jesus says first of all, you are salt. Now notice he says we are salt. It is not that we have salt, it's not that we're giving out salt, he says we are salt. There's a big difference. You see what we have and what we are giving out are the gospel. But what we are is something else that's talking about our lifestyle. So it's not that we're giving out salt, we give out the gospel. Jesus said you are salt. That's talking about who we are, people, that's our lifestyle, that's our character, that's the way we live day in and day out. So if we are salt and that means we're to live a lifestyle that shows our faith in Jesus Christ, then how does that translate into what we're to do? How does that translate into what we're really like? What are we as salt? Well that helps to understand what salt does. There are five things that salt does and I think that sheds the light on what we are to be as salt for Christ. First of all, salt preserves. In fact that was the number one use of salt in the ancient world. Salt was used in biblical times and really up until the 20th century for this purpose. Before there was refrigeration, if you wanted to keep a piece of meat or fish or something else as long as you possibly could, you would soak it in some kind of saline solution or even better yet rub it down real good with salt and for a period of time at least that salt would prevent the spread of decay and corruption. Now I think that has great impact and great meaning for us as to what our lifestyles are to be. The lifestyle of a follower of Jesus Christ is to be the kind of lifestyle that haunts the spread of corruption. You see when you work around someone, when you're a neighbor to someone, when you are in a group of friends, some of whom may not know Jesus, people should instinctively know that some things are not appropriate around you. A filthy story is not appropriate around you. Dishonesty is not appropriate around you. Cheating is not appropriate around you. A lack of integrity in any area of life, an angry reply, that's simply not appropriate around you. Now it's not that you're a holier than that kind of person, it's not that you're self-righteous or you're condemning of other people. It's not that you're coming across with that attitude, it's just that your lifestyle is so consistent of such integrity that they just sense there are certain things that aren't right around you. And so there are some conversations that you stop. There are some angry replies, maybe that are checked before they spill out. There are some words that probably will not be spoken, some things probably will not be done in your presence, simply because you're a Christ follower. At least that's a way to ought to be, because if we really are salt, just our presence, our lifestyle, not anything we say or attitude we exude, but just our presence and lifestyle ought to be such that people say, you know, I have too much respect for that person to say this or do this or come across that way around that person. We are salt and salt preserves. Now some people are going to hate you for that. Some people will not like you for that, but a lot of folks will respect you for the fact that you live a consistent life of integrity and honesty. And so there will be some spread of corruption that is halted simply because you're a Christian, you're a Christ follower. Second thing that salt does, salt gives flavor. Now that's probably the biggest use we have for salt today and that is to put on our food, to give it a little flavor, give it a little zest, to give it a little life, it makes something bland, a little more palatable. And that's the way we ought to be as Christians. Our lives ought to be infectious with joy so that people around us who are living a bland, meaningless existence that has to be kind of pumped up with entertainment and pleasure and maybe drugs and alcohol, kind of artificially stimulate something to get some joy out of life. People who are living that kind of existence can see that there is a natural kind of joy and zest and flavor to life in people who know Jesus. There ought to be a difference. Our lifestyle should be salty in the sense that it is joyful, it gives flavor, gives a little bit of zest to life. The third thing that salt does is that salt stings in an open wound. It stings in an open wound. I can remember a few years ago when I was in Israel for a month studying and we were studying all over the country and seeing parts of the country that tourists never have the opportunity to see. We went to the Dead Sea, traveled up above the Dead Sea to Ngeti where there's a waterfall and a spring and all where David hid from Saul. And then up above that there's this mountain and some of us about half a dozen of us climbed up on top of that mountain to get a view of the whole Dead Sea and the whole Jordan plain down below. It was absolutely phenomenal. After that we went back down and we were kind of sweaty and it was real hot over 100 degrees in the Dead Sea, Jordan Valley. Our professor and tour guide said we're going to take a dip in the Dead Sea, we're going to swim in the Dead Sea. But he said wait a second, I want to tell you something, if you've got an open wound, if you've got a cut or something like that, don't get in the water. Or at least try to keep from getting that in the water because as we already knew the Dead Sea is about 25% salt. It's a much higher salt content than the ocean. A lot of minerals and salt get into that and there's no escape, there's no drainage from the Dead Sea and so it's highly, highly salty. And I didn't think much about that. I had a little scratch on my arm from climbing up some rocks on that mountain and I didn't think of thinking about it. I got in the water. But boy, as soon as the salt hit that little scratch, it felt like somebody opened a gaping gash on my arm. It was just incredible stinging because of the concentration of salt. Salt in an open wound stings. What does that mean for you and me? When Jesus said you are the salt of the earth. I think it means that sometimes you're stand for truth, you're stand for honesty, you're unwillingness to compromise integrity is going to sting some people who live lives of open wounds. Who are just open sores whose lives are not characterized by integrity. Some people are going to be uncomfortable around Christ followers who not in a self righteous way but in a consistent way live lives of integrity. So sometimes your life is going to sting somebody else's life and that's not a bad thing. Again, some people will hate you for that. Some people will just dislike you for that. Some people will respect you for it and some people may be convicted enough by what they see in you to start asking some questions and want to find some answers about how my life can be more consistent. So salt stings in an open wound. The fourth thing that salt does is salt melts. Now again, that's a common use in our culture. We use salt to melt ice and snow. We use it on our driveways and our roads and our sidewalks so that we can navigate them a little better in bad weather. When Jesus said you are the salt of the earth, there is a sense in which at least as we understand that today in our culture I think it means that we in our lifestyles, in our godliness, in our love and compassion can melt even the hardest of hearts. There are times, as I want to say a little bit more fully and later in the message, there are times when acts of compassion and love will do more to break down barriers than anything you can say at least for a period of time and then open the door, provide a framework for you to be able to say some things later. But sometimes hard hearts need to be melted before they can be receptive, warm, ready hearts for the gospel. And so salt sometimes melts. The fifth thing that salt does is that salt creates thirst. Now you know that if you enjoy country ham, right? You need a country ham dinner, you're going to be looking for water the rest of the evening because salt creates thirst. And when Jesus said you are the salt of the earth, I believe that what he was talking about among other things was that as people see a difference in our lives, as they see that there's something different about us, something unique, something consistent, certain ways we respond, the average person doesn't respond that way. When they see that, then they long to have that. They long to have that peace or that joy or that honesty or that kindness or that genuine concern that you may have as a Christ follower. And when they see that, they may start asking questions about what makes you tick or why you spend so much time at church, you are questions like that. And they begin to seek answers because of what they see in your life. They want to know where that comes from. That's what Peter was talking about. In 1 Peter chapter 3, in verse 15, when he said, but in your hearts, set apart Christ as Lord, always be prepared. Now notice this, always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with generous in respect. Now do you see the train of events in that verse? That verse assumes first of all that you're living a lifestyle of hope, that you're living a lifestyle that demonstrates your life is not all about this stuff on this earth, you're living for eternity, you're living a lifestyle of hope. And that means a lot of difference in a lot of different areas of your lifestyle. That's the first step. Second step is that people begin to notice the difference. Third step is they start asking questions. Some of them may be sarcastic questions, some of them may be questions that are critical of you, but some of them may be very honest, soul-searching questions about what makes you tick. I don't understand. Why do you do this? How can you respond that way? How come you don't hate that person like the rest of us do? You know, honest questions. And then the fourth step is you've got some answers. And it's at that point where they observe your life, your salt, kind of life, that they ask questions that you need to be ready with answers as to why you tick. Why you do the things you do and think the way you think. Say the things you do or don't say the things you don't say. We are salt and salt creates thirst. But Jesus said something else, in verse 14. Jesus not only said you are salt, He also said you are light. Look at it there in verse 14. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bull. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven. Jesus said you are light, you are light of the world. Now notice again, He said you are light. It's not that you turn on the light. It's not that you're carrying the light. It's not that you're offering the light. You are the light. There's a big difference again. You see what we offer people, what we carry to people is our message, the gospel. But that's not what Jesus is talking about here. He's saying you are the light. Again, He's talking about character, lifestyle. Your lifestyle is the show part of the show and tell. We're not only telling people we're showing them what it means that Christ has made a difference in our life. If salt means some things about what we are to be, then what does light mean? What does it mean that we are the light of the world? Well there's several things that light does as well. First of all light reflects. Light reflects. It reflects all of other objects. If you've ever tried to take a picture of something through a window, probably when you got your picture back all you had was the reflection of the flash off the glass. Because light reflects. And sometimes it is the reflection of a greater light that we see. For instance, the moon reflects the light of the sun. The moon does not have any light of its own. It simply reflects the light of the sun. So when the sun drops off the horizon, then the moon is not showing its own light. The moon is reflecting the light of the sun. Now that's what Jesus talks about. And I think that's the sense in which we are lights reflecting the sun. Look at what Jesus said in John chapter 8 and verse 12. When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life. Just a chapter later in chapter 9 and verse 5, He said, while I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Notice, He qualifies it this time. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Why? Because people can see Him then. But just like the sun said, Jesus went back to heaven. And so He has left us to be reflectors of His light. Just like the moon reflects the sun's light, we reflect the sun of God's light. He's the light of the world. We're not the light of the world. But we are the light of the world, as Jesus said in Matthew 5, in the sense that we reflect His light. It's not light that comes from us. It's light that is reflected from Him. And just like the moon, sometimes we give off different levels of light. There are times of the month when the moon is just a little sliver in the sky. Maybe a quarter moon or less. Maybe it's a half moon or maybe it's a full moon bright and shining fully. Or once a month it becomes a new moon. Where there's no light at all from the moon. Now you know what makes the difference, don't you? To whatever degree the earth comes between the sun and the moon. The earth casts a shadow over the moon. I think that has direct application. If we are the light of the world, if we're reflecting the sun of God's light, the strength of our light will depend upon how much of this world stands between us and the sun of God. How much of this world, our attention is on. How much of this world is blocking out the sun of God so that we're not properly reflecting Him. And what Jesus wants us to be is 30, 31 days a month full moon. Where we're shining fully the glory of the Savior to other people. We reflect His light. So light reflects. Secondly, light shows the way. When Jesus said you are the light of the world, I think He was including this as well. We are to show the way. You know, in the middle of the night when you wake up, you need to check something you maybe forgot to turn off in the kitchen. You may grab for a flashlight or you cut a light on it, the switch. Why? Because a light will show you the way to get the way you need to go. Flash light, a beacon of some kind of lamp, you know, whatever. A light shows the way. A light is not the way, but a light shows you the way. And in keeping with Jesus' word picture, we are not the way, but we're to show people the way. Jesus is the way. Jesus said, I am the way the truth in the life. No man come with unto the Father, but by me. We don't save people. We don't get people to heaven. Jesus is the way to heaven. But we can show people the way. We can show them by our lifestyle to begin with what it means to be a Christ follower and what Jesus Christ looks like. You can show what Jesus would be like if Jesus were teaching down the hall from where that person's teaching. You can show them what Jesus would be like if they were working across the table from you in the factory. You can show them what Jesus would be like if they're reporting to you in the office how Jesus would handle things. You see, we're showing them the one who is the way, the truth, and the life. So a light reflects, a light shows the way. Thirdly, a light illuminates things. A light makes things visible. Makes things visible. Darkness hides light makes things visible. You see, the way it works with us is that in our lifestyles, we are to be making very visible for people to see something which is invisible or someone better yet who is invisible. Jesus Christ is no longer here on this earth, physically present. His physical bodily presence is in heaven at the right hand of the Father of the Bible says. But we are to make visible for people what is invisible to them, what they cannot see. We are to make visible that which they need to see Jesus Christ and so with very practical visible deeds of compassion, of honesty, of purity. We can make visible that which is invisible. We can show the Lord Jesus to other people. That's what light does. Light makes things visible. So Jesus said, you are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world. And as salt, we sometimes retard the growth of corruption or the spread of corruption. We may give some zest and flavor to others by the infectious joy that comes from knowing Christ, at least we should. At times we may sting, we may rebuke by our lifestyle, those who do not want to live a godly or biblical lifestyle. We certainly should melt hardened hearts and create thirst for people for the things of God. As light, we reflect the Lord Jesus Christ to this world. We show the way who is Jesus. We show them the way to Jesus and we make invisible things visible. That's what it means to be salt and light. Now let's go a little further in applying this. Showing our faith, being salt and light in this world. What does that mean? How do we do that? Let's move to some biblical principles for showing your faith. Some biblical principles. We've seen the pictures. Now let's look at the principles. What does it mean to show your faith? Well let me give you at least four principles this morning about showing your faith, living out your faith, being good salt and light around the people that you work with and in your neighborhood and among friends, some of whom may not know Jesus. The first principle I would suggest is this. Love people in their language. Love people in their language. In language they can see and understand and feel. Demonstrate love. Peter said it this way in 1 Peter, chapter 2, and verse 15. He says for it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. You know there are times when you don't try to answer ignorant foolishness. There are times when people may ridicule Christianity, when people may ridicule your faith and deny your faith, and there are times when it's best, as Peter says, just to keep living the right way, doing good and put the silence, the ignorance of foolish men. Sometimes unbelievers may reject your beliefs, they may ridicule your faith, but it's difficult for them to discount sincere acts of love and kindness. It's difficult for them to discount the kind of reaching out to people in love that really builds bridges to other people. Jesus did that all the time. Jesus touched lepers. He held children in his lap. He reached out to people with visible compassion. He went to the house of outcasts for dinner. Walks into Zacchaeus' house when all the religious crowd is murmuring about who he's hanging out with. Jesus visibly demonstrated love to people and broke down walls and barriers by that kind of compassion. What does that mean for you and me? Well maybe it means that your neighbor needs someone to babysit for them so they can have an evening out or some time to go get groceries. Maybe it needs that they need help in watching an elderly loved one that's at home with them for a couple of hours at least so they can get out and run some business in town. Go to the bank in the post office. Maybe that's the kind of visible act of compassion that you could do for an unsaved neighbor at some time. Maybe they need help with a household project that you have some experience with and you could chip in and help them get it done. Maybe a little faster. Maybe they need help tutoring a child and you've got a math background so you could chip in and help a little bit hour a week for you. It may mean that new neighbor that's moved in next to you needs a little help finding out where things are around town. Understanding how to get places and where to find a good doctor and dentist and things like that and you could invite them over for dinner and help break them into the community. Take them and show them around. Maybe it means that you repair something that's broken for them or you just take a genuine interest in what they enjoy, what they are doing. In any number of ways we can love people in their language that can do a lot to break down walls. It can do a lot to challenge the misconception that all Christians are self-centered, holier than thou, self-righteous, un-carrying people. And that's what a lot of unsafe people think about Christians. Sad to say some have earned that reputation but consistent loving acts and people's language they can understand can build bridges and break down walls so that we can have opportunities then to share the gospel. That's what Jesus is talking about when he said be salt and light. That's what Peter was talking about when he said by doing good you can silence the foolishness of ignorant people. A second principle for showing your faith be there for them during the bad times. Be there for them during the bad times. In Romans chapter 12 and verse 15 into the verse Paul says these simple words mourn with those who mourn. Now an unsaved neighbor and a friend will hurt just like everybody else in life hurts at times. And when they are hurting sees the opportunity to demonstrate the kind of Jesus love that you're trying to tell them about. Let them see it, show your faith, let them see it in what we do. You see that person will remember who called or who visited in their time of hardship. That person will remember who visited their family member in the hospital. That person will remember who showed up at the funeral home when they had a death in the family. That person will remember who reached out to help them during an emergency. And yes it may take some sacrifice and it may take some of the time that you feel like you don't have to give but unsaved people are worth it. They matter to God, they ought to matter to us. In 1991 after the first Gulf War hundreds of thousands of Kurds left the northern part of Iraq where they had been suffering awful persecution under the regime of Saddam Hussein. They had killed thousands of Kurds. And so they fled the country and found themselves on a mountain side in Turkey just over the border where they set up refugee camps. With very little sanitation, little or no water food, you know it was just awful. And a lot of Christian relief organizations moved in to provide food and shelter and blankets, water and those kinds of things. But most of those Christian organizations only connected with those Islamic Kurds through the back of a truck or through a central station where they were giving out supplies. There was one group however, Operation Mobilization that decided to do something nobody else wanted to do. They decided they would take care of the trash detail. The garbage was piling up in these refugee camps. It was stunk. It was awful. Nobody wanted to be around it. And there was one group that moved in and said we will take care of that. And so they got down with the people and got dirty and moved the garbage. And it was those folks who had the greatest impact on reaching some of those people for Jesus Christ. Why? Because they were there for them during their bad time. And it wasn't just to kind of keep my distance and your stuff. It was I want to be in there with you helping you with real needs. I want to rub shoulders with you and be right beside you to help you take care of your garbage. That's the kind of display of compassion and love that wins people over to a hearing of the gospel. Third principle. Be there for their good times. The first part of the verse we just saw in Romans 12 verse 15, first part of the verse says, rejoice with those who rejoice. And you know what? An unsafe person will remember when you've come to their family wedding. They will remember when you sent them a birthday card and you made a big deal over some promotion. They got it work or something good that happened in their life. When you celebrate with them, when you take opportunity of a special event or accomplishment in their lives to say, hooray, way to go, good job. Celebrate with them to rejoice with those that rejoice. It's a great way to show your faith. It's a great way to build bridges. And to again, break down those barriers of people who think that all Christians are kind of no stuck up in the air and self-righteous people. But to celebrate with them, to show them they're important that they matter. Fourth principle, quickly. Show real interest in their lives. Show real interest in their lives. In James 1 and verse 19, James speaking in a context of relationships says this, my dear brothers, take note of this. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. That principle is very important in all of human relationships. Be quick to listen, slow to speak. Let me ask you something. In conversations with people, if somebody all of a sudden draws a blank, loses a train of thought and says, now where was I? Would you be able to tell them? For an awful lot of us, when we're talking with other people, we're not doing much listening. We've got our mind on our own stuff and we're thinking of maybe our reply or what we're going to say or how we're going to come across or how we appear to them. We're going to make the best impression, all that kind of stuff. Our thoughts are really on us, not them. And sometimes the best way to demonstrate love and compassion and just being a genuine person is genuinely caring about someone else, showing them that you are interested in the things they're interested in. Sometimes it means asking questions of interest to them. That shows you really interested in their lives. They are not just a project to you. They are not just another notch on your gospel gun. If you win them the Christ, you can tell somebody, I won someone the Christ this week. No, but you show a real interest in their lives. That kind of genuine compassion can open a lot of doors. A few months ago I had someone call me a young lady that I had done premarital counseling probably a couple years ago for she and her fiance. And they had been attending our church at that time and a family member and uncle, I believe, of the groom did the wedding, but they wanted me to do the premarital counseling. I went through several sessions with them and rejoiced with them in their wedding and so forth. They were attending church years. I said, while they were in the area, but moved out of the area for work reasons, lived somewhere else now. She called me a few months ago and she said, would you please go visit my parents? I said, I'd be glad to. They only professing believe in her family. I had a great concern for her parents. I wanted to see them saved and she said, I've talked to them many times about Christ and I just think maybe someone else, would you be willing to go? I said, give me the address, phone number, I'll call them and ask them a good time and she said, please don't call. They would never let you come if you called ahead. Just go. I said, okay, usually that doesn't work too well. Usually it'll show up, but hey, I'm here. Often the best way. But I did. I went and knocked on the door. I went to the door and looked at me like, oh boy, another salesman. I quickly explained who I was and that I knew their daughter. I could tell right away it was not a good time. He told me he had just gotten home from work. He was still eating dinner. So I apologized and said, can I come back another time thinking he'll say, why? I don't want you here. But he said, sure, give me a call. So I did. Next week I called, said, hey, I'm John King. It was over the other night. Oh yeah, is there a good time this week? Maybe we could get together and talk and he gave me an evening. So I went over. I went in and you know something that I've learned in talking with people that you don't really know. People will open up and talk about three things. They will talk about their home. They will talk about their family and they will talk about their job. So if you just go in with the four spiritual laws right on the tip of your tongue, you're probably going to get thrown out pretty quick. So usually when I visit someone like that, I try to notice something about their home that I want to compliment them on and ask about, talk about. Sometimes it's kind of hard. But usually there's something you can find that is worthy of accommodation. And in this case, it was a guy's yard. It was immaculate. It was beautiful. So we started talking about his yard. Man, you must spend a lot of time in this yard. Oh yeah, it just wouldn't believe. And we went on and on talking about his yard. And then we started talking about his family. And people love talking about their kids and grandkids. And so they were really beginning to open up now and talking. And we just had a great time talking about family. And then I started talking about his job. I see what he did for a living. And he just opened up and talked about some of his frustrations at work. Come to find out, usually there's conversations like this, even if you don't know someone, you can make some connection with someone. And this was it. The job was the connection. I found out he worked for a company. In fact, he was the manager of this company, the head guy in this company. And when I, when he said the company, I realized right away we had two guys in our church at work for that company. So I said, hey, you know, so it's like, yeah, you know, yeah, sure, I know them. And thank the Lord, whoever you were, and I'm not going to point you out with whoever you had a good testimony. If you had a bad testimony on the job, you would have blown it for me that evening. But you had a good testimony. And so it kept the door open to talk with him about some things. And then finally about after about an hour, we got to read on the spiritual things. By that time the conversation was flowing freely. And they were open. And they talked with me about some very deep pain they'd had in the past with some churches and why they'd kind of turn their back on anything spiritual, anything religious, anything to do with church. And I wish I could say I led them to Christ that evening that didn't happen, but we did have a great conversation about the Lord. And I think the door is still open to reaching them with the gospel. But you know what, if I had just gone in with my agenda and said, okay, here's the four spiritual laws. Here's the Roman's road. Here it is. You know, you need to know you're going to help. You know, if I'd started out that way, I would have been tuned out immediately. Show a genuine interest in people's lives and it will break down barriers and open doors. Part of living our faith is to show a genuine interest in other people and to show a real interest in their lives. Now, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to do that. You don't have to have a theological degree to do that or a Hollywood personality to do that. Any of us can show our faith by loving people like Jesus did. Any of us can do that. And we can do that every day. It doesn't require any of those things. I'll tell you what it does require. It requires contact and visibility. Those two things it requires. Salt has to have contact with whatever it's going to affect. If it stays in the salt, shaker, it's no good. Your food will not taste any better. If it stays in the back of the dump truck, it won't do any good on the highway. It has to come in contact with whatever it's going to affect. And light cannot be hidden. Even Jesus said so there in verses 14 and 15, didn't he? He said, a city on a hill cannot be hidden. When you put a city up on a hill, it's light's going to shine. And he said, when you take a lamp and light it in a home, you don't put it under a bowl. You put it on a stand. The whole purpose of light is to shine. It's not to be hidden. So light has to have visibility. Salt has to have contact. So if we are going to show our faith, we've got to have some real time contact with unsaved people. We've got to be visible. Now I know that it is so easy once we come to know Jesus Christ is our savior to find all of our friendships within the context of the body of Christ. That's natural, that's normal, that's easy, that's comfortable. But we need to have some contact and visibility out among people who need the savior in order to be the kind of salt and light that will affect them for Christ. In fact, the only way some of them may ever spend eternity in heaven with us is if we've been there to show them the love of Jesus, showing our faith which may open the door to tell them about Christ. Would you pray with me? Father, help us to be more sensitive to the opportunities that we have that you probably should send across our path every day, people that we work with, people that we live near, people that are friends of ours, maybe we haven't had contact with them for a long time. Lord, help us to be sensitive to those opportunities that we have to show our faith, to be salt and light, and to be one who reaches one for Christ, for your Son, help us to be faithful every day that we live, to reach out to the people that we can. We ask in Jesus' name, Amen.