One of the best ways we can be used by God is by simply being ourselves.

The identity Christ has given us as sons and daughters is meant to shine forth and be a witness to those around us.

May you be encouraged today in your identity in Christ

and freed from any unnecessary weight you've been carried.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works

and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 5.16.

Jesus' teaching on salt and light in the Sermon on the Mount is one of my favorite passages

of Scripture related to sharing the

heart of God with the world around us. In Matthew 513 through 16, Jesus taught, you are the

salt of the earth. But if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

You are the light of the world.

A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light

to all in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works

and give glory to your father who is in heaven.

One of the most powerful aspects of this message is how Jesus begins by speaking

identity over us. God doesn't tell us to go get some salt and share it. He says,

We are salt. He doesn't tell us to go get light and shine it. He says, we are the light.

Sharing God's heart is part of who we are. As believers,

we've been redeemed, washed clean, that we might proclaim the excellencies of our Savior

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