This New Life

Many believers would agree with the statement, “This world is a mess!” Crime. Violence. Poverty. Injustice. Anger. Hostility. Greed. Loneliness. Depression. The list is long of what’s wrong with the human race. Yes—the world is a mess, but that mess is precisely why Jesus came! In a world filled with darkness, Jesus came to bring light. In a world filled with death, Jesus came to bring resurrection. In fact, on the very first Easter Sunday, the angelic message was, “Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead’” (Matthew 28:6).

These are the verbs of Easter—come and see; go and tell. Gather and scatter. It’s always been that way with Jesus. He gathers his disciples to teach them. And then he sends them out to love others, do good works, and proclaim the gospel of the kingdom. He then gathers them back again to share their stories and do more teaching. It’s the rhythm of life for believers—even today. Indeed, the followers of Christ gather for motivation and scatter for mission.

Jesus said, “Freely you have received, now freely give” (Matthew 10:8). We gather to receive, and then we scatter to give. So, for the Church of Jesus Christ, there is constant ebb and flow between the attractional and the missional, the receiving and the giving, the coming together and the going out, the gathering and the scattering.

When we scatter, we do so to function as “the salt of the earth” (513a). Salt preserves. Salt seasons. Salt irritates. And salt cleanses. The challenge for salt is to remain pure. (5:13b). We also scatter to function as “the light of the world” (5:14a). Light illuminates. Light awakens. Light exposes. And light warms. The challenge for light is to not hide itself (5:14b-15). As Jesus said, “A city 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.” There has to be a visibility to our faith, not just a philosophy. As one hymn puts it, “Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.”