Better Off?

So here’s what happened. Last night, just as every Wednesday night, we were having our middle school youth meeting at church, and I asked the students to describe their school in no more than two words. To be sure, I got some fairly interesting answers ranging from “disgustingly awful” all the way up to “awesomely awesome.” It was actually quite interesting hearing their different perspectives, especially since about 85% of the kids go to the same school.

Now, you see, we were discussing the rather piercing charge that Jesus gave us in Matthew 5:14-16 where he said,

You are the light of the world–like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand where it gives off light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your Heavenly Father (NLT).

So the question was posed, “is your school any better off because you are there?” Of course at this, pretty much every kid said that it was, implying that they are the coolest thing that has happened to the school since it was built. But that’s not at all what I was asking. You see, as I look at this passage, I think that Jesus was trying to get across a very profound message. He was saying, “Make the world a better place because you lived in it, and all the while, give glory to the Father.”

It was actually quite an interesting moment for me to think, “Is the world a better place because I’m here?” and then to even furth ask myself, “What have I done recently that has allowed God to receive glory?” The interesting thing was that last night we only got to touch on these questions briefly because of time constraints, but hopefully in the coming weeks we’ll be able to look at them a little more closely.

Leave a Comment