Be impactful Part 5, by Aije Barnes, Feb 2, Issue 1 Vol 5

In Part 4 the opening verses was: 

 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. 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 others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (‭Matthew 5:14-16 NIV)

We were also reminded that a world without Christ is a very dark world indeed and Jesus called us the light of the world.

Following on from where we stopped in Part 4, and focussing on Isaiah Chapter 61, the prophet Isaiah in prophesying spoke the following about the children of God in being the light and salt of the world, that :

'They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. And you will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours. “For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. In my faithfulness I will reward my people and make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed.” (‭Isaiah‬ ‭61‬:‭4-9‬ NIV)'

You can see from the first part of the scriptures quoted above, the transformation we are meant bring to the world as light of the world as well as salt of the world. 

Let us read it again and personalise it to ourselves. Here, let me help you - just read on: 

'We will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; we will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Strangers will shepherd our flocks; foreigners will work out fields and vineyards. And we will be called priests of the Lord, we will be named ministers of our God. We will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches we will boast. Instead of our shame we will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace we will rejoice in our inheritance. And so we will inherit a double portion in our land, and everlasting joy will be ours.' 

This is what the Lord says:

 “For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. In my faithfulness I will reward my people and make an everlasting covenant with them.'

And  because of God's faithfulness the blessings extends beyond us, so much so that:

'Our descendants will be known among the nations and our offspring among the peoples. All who see us will acknowledge that we are a people the Lord has blessed.” (‭Isaiah‬ ‭61‬:‭4-9‬ NIV)' Wow! How amazing is that! 

Don't wait for a special moment to start making an impact on your world. Every moment is an opportunity. Use your time wisely whether as light or salt of the world and enjoy the blessings that come with it. You may be the only bible people will read. Be as Jesus was to the world because as He is so are we in this world. Jesus still is. He is in you and I as Children of God. 

So let us as Children of God, let our light so shine before others that they may see our good works and Glorify our Father in Heaven. 

Shalom