Garry continued his series on Christ as revelator of God’s glory (see John 1:18) by looking at Jesus’ words to His disciples in John 14:1-14. Here, Jesus reveals the Father’s heart to His disci0ples (see John 3:16) and yet it’s clear that His disciples are confused, not understanding where Jesus is going or how He reveals the Father to them. God wants people to know Him and what He is like and the clearest revelation we have of God is through Jesus: ‘anyone who has seen me has seen the Father’. He reveals Himself through His word, through Jesus, through His actions and now through His church. We are now called to be those who reveal God’s character to a world which knows little of God.
So often, people’s experience or knowledge of God are second-hand. Insurance policies talk about exemption clauses because of ‘acts of God’, and these are always negative experiences such as flooding or earthquakes! Many people view the God of the Old Testament as wrathful and mean, failing to see that God’s nature is unchanging and that He is a God of faithfulness and love (not an evil God who is ‘replaced’ by the kinder Jesus-God, as some heresies claim.) Jesus reveals God as a God of justice who cares for the poor and who values the individual (all themes found in the Old Testament too) and then makes the startling statement that we, God’s people, are the salt and light of the world. (Matt 5:13-16)
The church is called to be salt. Salt is a preservative and we are called also to transform the flavour of the world around us (just as the word ‘salad’ originally meant to enhance the taste of green lettuce leaves with salt! – ‘You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavours of this earth‘, as the Message version puts it.) We are light, a city on a hill. During our recent visit to Malta, the cities of Rabat and Mdina which are set on a hill became a guiding point of reference for us; Christians are meant to show people the way to God by reflecting His light and pointing to Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).
Light reveals colours (‘You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world.‘) So often, Christians are perceived negatively (and by association, people’s views of God are negative). We need to find ways to support and encourage all that is good as well as build bridges through our lifestyles so that we earn the right to be heard by others. God longs to grow the fruit of the Spirit in our lives – this fruit being a reflection of God’s character. As God’s character grows in us, we can then reflect that character to others, demonstrating love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, patience, gentleness and self-control. In this way, we reveal God’s character to a world which otherwise has many faulty ideas about God.