I had an idea to tell a friend that she was the “salt of the earth” type of person. Not a phrase I can remember using before; think I heard it from Baxter. I told her and she started crying. She was going through a trial of sorts that I knew nothing about and the verse that God had been showing her just that morning to encourage her was something about being salt of the earth. So cool to participate like that. All glory to Him.

I was reading in Luke 18. First there is the story of the Pharisee and the publican. The Pharisee trusted in himself and what he had done. The publican did not. The publican pleaded for God’s mercy and was saved.

Then we have the story of the little children. Jesus says to be like little children in order to enter heaven. Little children are receivers. They are not “good”. They have very little to offer.

Then there is the story of a ruler who asked what he had to do to get to heaven. Jesus says only God is good and reminds him of the law. So that means no human is good enough to get into heaven because you have to be perfect/righteous to get into heaven.

But even so, the man says he has kept the commandments. Trying to justify himself. So Jesus tells him to sell everything he has and give to the poor and follow Jesus in order to get treasure in heaven. Is Jesus’ point not that the way to get into heaven is to give away all your money but rather to show the man his heart? Because the man thinks he is good and Jesus shows him where he isn’t good? That he’d rather have earthly pleasure than Jesus? So we can’t extrapilate that we need to give up all our money to get into heaven? Because that isn’t enough. But rather, we are not able to get into heaven at all by anything that we do or don’t do?

Because then the next story is about a blind beggar. Who, like the children, is seen as having nothing to offer. He doesn’t ask Jesus to heal him based on what he has done or not done. He, like the publican, begs for mercy. Jesus heals him and tells him his faith has saved him. His faith in what? His faith in his faith? His faith in his works? Or his faith in Jesus and that Jesus could save him?

So then I am not justified by anything I do or don’t do, but I will only ever be justified by Jesus’ righteousness? Which I cannot earn. Which I can have simply by believing that He is offering it to me?

So when Jesus is telling people how to get to heaven, is it not so much a formula as if he expects them to be able to do it, but rather so that they will come to the end of themselves and realize they are woefully inadequate and lost and hopeless without His righteousness and mercy? So that they will cry out for mercy and receive salvation not by any work but because Jesus offers it for free? So then the laws drive us to The Cross or condemn us if we choose to justify ourselves?

We deserve nothing but hell so all else is only by grace? We reject Jesus when we try to justify ourselves by anything other than believing that He gives us the gift of His righteousness? That salvation is by grace alone, not any work? Not giving away our money, not keeping any law, not loving enough, etc?

Just had a sobering thought. We put so much importance on feelings and experiences in this culture. But a spiritual experience does not automatically guarantee eternal security.

People saw Jesus perform miracles and then those same people crucified Him. Or consider Judas. He was with Jesus on a daily basis. He had more reason to believe than most. And yet he sold Jesus out. Even the demons believe that Jesus is real.

The believer and unbeliever can both have spiritual experiences. It makes sense that God would reveal Himself to everyone. The Word of God states that He wishes none to perish.

And yet we all sin. So what separates a Peter from a Judas? What makes me different than Judas? Than Saul? Than Pharaoh? They all had spiritual experiences. We certainly cannot rest our eternal security merely on the basis of having a spiritual experience.

Miss Athena said something cool the other day that I agree with when she said that God speaks to us in our own language. Not just the language of our mouths, but the language of who we are as a person. The language of how we think in our own unique ways.

This is a great example:

There is one item that I bought for the first time a million years ago at Book People in Austin that is still a huge favorite for me: the Kikkerland RainbowMaker. It is a crystal attached to a motor that is powered by sunlight. When the solar panel catches enough sunlight then the gears start turning and the crystal starts rotating. The rotating crystal acts as a prism that refracts the sunlight in order to create rainbows moving all around the room. I love it.

Well, God used the RainbowMaker to help me understand how these verses in John 1 relate to me:

“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.”

He showed me that just like the crystal on the RainbowMaker cannot produce rainbows on it’s own, neither can I produce the works of God in and of myself by my own power. If you take the RainbowMaker crystal and put it in a dark room then you will see no rainbows. Without God, I am that crystal in the darkness. I have nothing inside of me on my own apart from God that is able to penetrate the darkness of this world.

When you look at a crystal by itself it just looks like a piece of glass. Like any other piece of glass. Nothing special about it. But when you hold a crystal up to the light then the sun shines through and creates beautiful rainbows. Similarly, on my own I am just another average human. But when God shines through me then people see His beautiful brilliance. If I remove myself from God and His presence then the impact of my life is very dull. I need to stay focused on and spend time with Him in order to soak up The Son and have Him shine through me.

Similarly, if I were to take the RainbowMaker crystal and cover it in mud then no rainbows would be produced even though the sun is still shining. Likewise, the sin in my life blocks The Son from my heart and from others seeing Him through me. When I repent and stop sinning then I clean up the junk that is between me and God and the result is that I feel His presence more and others also see Him working more through me.

God also used the RainbowMaker to show me that He doesn’t expect me to work up a bunch of my own light. If the crystal is dirty and covered up then no light can shine through it. He showed me that when I cover myself in sin, people don’t experience God shining through me. They only see my ugliness. My job is to not to shine my own light. My job is to keep myself clean from sin so The Son can shine through me.

When the crystal is in darkness, it is not able to generate any rainbows by itself. The rainbows are only made when the sun shines through the crystal. Similarly God showed me that before I was a true follower of Jesus, my heart was in darkness. There was and is nothing great about me in and of myself. The good that people now see comes from me being aligned with The Son, Jesus. When I am focused on Him then He shines His goodness through me and others see it.

This is a such a no-brainer for me. For the majority of my life I was very much a loner. I felt invisible to the world. People seemed to look right through me as if I didn’t exist. It was a good foundation for reducing the possibility of the attention I now receive from getting to my head. People say things like, “You’re popular, Sarah.” No, I have never been the popular one in and of myself. The only reason God gives me favor with people now is so He can shine through me. If I was to take the favor He has given me to advance my own selfish agenda then believe me, the audience would disappear with a quickness.

As time goes by,
my heart grows fonder
of all GOD’s love
that He gave us to ponder.

It’s an eternal love
with no start or beginning
and it’ll keep on going
‘til the angels stop singing.

It’s unconditional,
perfect in every way.
GOD’s love will never leave.
Not even for a day.

He is the best Father
a child could find,
and all His forgiveness
should blow every mind.

He knows every hurt,
every desperate need.
And He abundantly provides,
promising to clothe and feed.

GOD is constant,
He abideth still.
And loves us so much,
His own Son He did kill.

GOD lives in peace
and gives it too.
Freely and happily
to me and to you.

So if you’re in despair
or feel you’re at a loss,
find hope in GOD’s love
and look to the cross.

To GOD be all glory.
Blessed be His name.
Let Him receive the fortune,
give Him all the fame.

The road is straight,
narrow and long,
but CHRIST is there,
to keep you strong.