Matthew 5:13-16

Matthew 5:13-16
English Standard Version (ESV)

  We all have things we save for special occasions.  We buy nice things and then convince ourselves that we don't want to wear them out or waste them on everyday life, so we stick them in the back of a drawer or closet and wait for the right time.  On occasion, we discover them still in the back of the closet, still waiting for the perfect occasion, and we realize that we should have used them far more often. 
  What Jesus is warning us about here is the same concept.  So often, the temptation is to place our spirituality in the back of the closet and drag it out every Sunday morning, along with our 'going to church clothes'.  Then, once church is over, we put it back in the closet, where it is safe and protected, and leave it there until we go back to church.  It's a waste to live in such a way, Jesus teaches us.  A flashlight shining under a bucket all day doesn't do anyone any good, and your spirituality kept 'safe' and tucked away during the week doesn't help, either.  We're to take the grace and mercy and peace of Christ out into the world and share the Good News with the world -- we don't have to be afraid that we're going to run out or that there won't be enough.  Grace shared multiplies, and we revel together in the amazing love of God.