What is the saltiness that we as Jesus' disciples can lose, or the light which we can hide under a bowl? Our saltiness and our light—the impact that we are intended to have on people in this world—come from our relationship with our Father in heaven, because he is the One to be praised for the good works we do in this world. This message in the Sermon on the Mount is often overlooked. Only on one occasion in Matthew 5-7 does Jesus refer to God as ‘my Father’ (Mt.7:21, Med.#16). The other 16 times, he speaks about our relationship with the Father!

According to Luke, Jesus gave this first part of his teaching to a ‘crowd of his disciples’, not just to the twelve selected apostles. And many in the listening multitude may not have even been Jewish. The Israelites present, who made up the majority, had already received a precursory glimpse of God as Father in their scriptures (Med.#A-E). These were also looking forward to the kingdom of God’ that was ‘near’; and many of them would have already responded to John’s call to repent and receive baptism for forgiveness of sins. To all such men and women as these, Jesus is saying: ‘God is YOUR Father’.

Through repentance, faith, and hope in Jesus, these disciples now have the seeds of the Father's character planted in them (humility, meekness, commitment to relational righteousness, heart purity, being merciful, etc.). But these seeds still need to grow to maturity as these men and women make such character traits a pattern in their daily lives. Yet Jesus does not take a ‘wait and see’ approach. Instead, he affirms his disciples. He blesses these seeds in them and then issues a challenge.

Like those early disciples we may not comprehend at first everything he teaches us. But through Jesus' words to them we too can hear the voice of our Father in heaven (Med.#10). He is speaking to you today: ‘Though the world excludes you and insults you, even rejects you, because you are poor (in spirit), meek and sometimes go hungry, I affirm you. I am happy with you and I bless you. Though people might act embarrassed because of you, when you mourn over the consequences of sin in the world, I call you blessed. Though the world is hateful toward you when you speak up prophetically for justice and righteous relationships, I am happy with you. Why? Because I see in you the seeds of the Father's character.

If human fathers affirm their sons and daughters at all, they tend to base their approval on worldly standards of success: like being rich, well fed, famous and always jovial (‘Don't worry, be happy!’). Or their affirmation may only be a kind of ‘made up’ praise, to cheer up their children in difficult circumstances. Was the affirmation of your earthy father like this? Did he ever affirm you for the seeds of good character traits he saw in you? Or was his affirmation (or criticism) based on your being successful and pleasing to people? Or did it seem ‘made up’ and not genuine?

Our real Father's affirmation, spoken through Jesus, is genuine. But it does include a challenge and a warning. The Father expects the seeds of his character to grow inside us so that it bears fruit in good deeds towards other people. It is not enough to just have good motives, or say ‘I never did anyone any harm’. The question is, ‘Did I ever do anyone any good’? Your Father's affirmation is not based on performance alone, but he does expect good deeds to follow. And one of the natural results of acting on his affirmation is that many people will have a revelation of the Father.

But this challenge also contains a warning. If the seeds of his character in our lives do not produce such good deeds, we will become like a bowl-covered lamp or like tasteless salt that is worthless. Instead of people seeing the Father in us, they will walk out of our churches and trample on us. They will see that the lamps of our eyes are full of the same worldly desires as they have, negating the light inside us and turning it to darkness (see Med.#15).

Are you able to hear and receive the affirmation of your Father in heaven? Is his affirmation having the intended double result in your life: the growth of the seeds of his character in you, and an overflow of good deeds towards others? 

O Lord, you are my Father, though my own father did not know me, nor people of my own nation acknowledge me. (Is.63:16a)

O Lord, you are my Father, because you know me and are familiar with all my ways, and because you, Jesus, are our Kinsman-Redeemer from of old. (Ps.139:1,3; Is.63:16b)

Father, strengthen me with power through your Spirit in my inner being, so that…according to your power that is at work within me, you may do through me immeasurably more than all I can ask or imagine. (Eph.3:16-17,20)

Father, I want your name to be glorified and respected as holy because of my actions. (Jn.12:28; Mt.6:9)

[i] The whole Scripture Passage is taken from J.K. Mellis, The Good News of the Messiah by the Four Witnesses, pp.61-63.

[ii] The Greek word dikaio-sunee literally means ‘righteous-with’ and thus is first about 'the' relational righteousness with him, not just a righteous status with God [Barclay, The Letter to the Romans, p.5,23]. It is also about relational righteousness with people (Eph.5:9 [Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians, p.164]; 1 Tim. 6:11 [The Letters to Timothy, Titus and Philemon, p.134].