A Witnessing Life
READ
You don't have to mount a platform to be a witness. You don't need a megaphone, a blog, or a social media following. Your life is already speaking.
Let’s take a moment to read Matthew 5:13-16:
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
REFLECT
Jesus said it plainly: "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden." Not "you should try to be light" or "work really hard at being light." You ARE light. The question is whether you're letting it shine or hiding it under a basket.
Here's what's both challenging and liberating about this: your witness isn't primarily about what you say. It's about who you are and how you live. It's the kindness you show to the exhausted cashier. It's the integrity you maintain when no one's checking. It's the hope you carry when circumstances suggest despair. It's the forgiveness you extend when retaliation would feel justified.
Peter puts it this way: "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." Your distinct life—shaped by allegiance to Jesus—becomes an invitation. People watch how you navigate disappointment, how you treat people who can't help you, how you respond when you're wronged, how you use your resources, how you talk about others.
This isn't about performing or pretending. It's not about projecting a false image of perfection. In fact, that kind of religious facade turns people away from Jesus rather than drawing them near. What's compelling is authentic transformation—real people being genuinely shaped by a real God, complete with struggles, questions, and imperfections, but moving in a distinct direction.
Salt and light work quietly. Salt doesn't announce itself; it simply makes things taste better and preserves what would otherwise decay. Light doesn't demand attention; it just exposes darkness and makes navigation possible. That's what your life does when it's shaped by Jesus. You season the spaces you inhabit. You illuminate possibilities people couldn't see before.
The world has heard enough sermons from people whose lives don't match their words. But they're starving for authenticity—for people whose hope is rooted in something deeper than circumstances, whose joy isn't dependent on everything going right, whose love extends beyond those who love them back, whose peace doesn't evaporate when chaos hits.
Your distinct life is your most powerful witness. Not because you're better than anyone else, but because Jesus is working in you in ways that point beyond yourself. When people see your good deeds—not staged or strategic, but natural overflow of who you're becoming—they don't glorify you. They glorify your Father in heaven.
You're already a witness. The question is: what is your life testifying about?
RESPOND
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.
If someone who doesn't follow Jesus observed your life for a week—your reactions, your words, your priorities—what would they conclude is most important to you?
Where is your life currently serving as "salt and light" in practical ways, and where might you be hiding your light or losing your saltiness?
What distinct quality (hope, forgiveness, generosity, peace, joy) could the Spirit cultivate in you that would cause others to ask about the source of your life?
REST
Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:
Father, help me remember that my life is always speaking, always witnessing to something. Shape me into someone whose life testifies to Your goodness, not through perfection but through authentic transformation. Make me salt that brings out Your flavor in the world and light that helps others find their way to You. Give me courage to live distinctly, not to impress anyone but to reflect Jesus in everyday moments. May people see my life and glorify You. Amen.