Matthew 5:13-16

What if we really lived the way that Jesus wants us to? Everytime I go back to the words of Jesus, and really reflect on my own life in light of his teaching... Well, if I'm completely honest, I fall way short. We all do. That's why we need grace. That's why, when he tells us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, his words are founded on what he says first: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3). To be a Christ-follower is to recognize and acknowledge our own poverty of spirit before almighty God. We have nothing to offer Him, and yet He gives us grace.
The words that follow are about our response. If we have acknowledged our own poverty to God and accepted His grace through His everlasting mercy, then the change in our heart, the change in the very fibre of our being, changes how we look at the world and how we live in the world. A Christian is defined by their regenerated life (see Galatians 2:20), but we're fooling ourselves and just paying lip-service to Jesus if the new life He gives us is not demonstrated in every aspect of how we live.

The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. (1 John 2:4-5)

It is right to stress evangelism as the mission of the Church. It is equally right to stress "good works" and social justice as the mission of the Church. How can this be so? Evangelism and good works are like the two sides of the same coin... Faith in Christ and the resulting actions in the life of the believer are like the two wings of an airplane. If one is missing, what will happen to the airplane? That's what John is saying in the quote above. Knowing Jesus means obeying Jesus. Obeying Jesus means telling others about Him and caring for the poor, the oppressed, the sick, and the imprisoned... While salt of the earth is meant to preserve, and therefore act to arrest the decaying action of sin, light of the world is meant to actively display Christ and the holy, loving, royal kingdom of God's reign in the people and community that He has established.
Bible scholar and renouned preacher John Stott says it like this:

Good works are works of love as well as of faith. They express not only our loyalty to God, but our care for our fellows as well. Indeed, the primary meaning of 'works' must be practical, visible deeds of compassion. It is when people see these, Jesus said, that they will glorify God, for they embody the good news of his love which we proclaim. Without them our gospel loses its credibility and our God his honour. ("The Message of the Sermon on the Mount", John R.W. Stott,62).

What if we really lived the way Jesus wants us to? If you believe in Jesus, if you have acknowledged your poverty of spirit and believe that Jesus has given you new life, the challenge today is to act on it and to be the Christians that we say we are. The needs are all around us. Go, now, and shine your light.