LET’S STUDY TOGETHER: Matthew 5:43–48
It AMAZES me that as I begin to navigate the platform of social media, God would bring me into a deeper study of the CHARACTER of the Kingdom Believer through Matthew 5.
In verses 13–16, Jesus speaks about our influence as believers—being SALT and LIGHT in the earth.
Salt is a preservative. It restrains decay. As Kingdom believers, we are called to preserve righteousness and godliness within the earth.
Light shines in darkness. It brings clarity, exposes what is hidden and reveals the way forward.
Jesus is talking about our INFLUENCE and how we represent the Kingdom in the earth!
But what we must understand is this:
HAVING A PLATFORM IS NOT THE SAME AS HAVING INFLUENCE!
Having followers does not automatically mean that we are following the intention of God. How we operate on a platform does not always reflect the purpose for which God allowed us to have it.
So, the question becomes:
Are we exemplifying KINGDOM influence?
Do people see our good works and glorify our Father—or do they simply know who we are?
What amazes me even more is that Jesus later teaches about loving our enemies. He confronts the belief that we should love our neighbors while hating those who oppose us.
Now, this does not negate the importance of boundaries. We must have boundaries, and we must discern righteously how we operate in love.
But boundaries do not disconnect us from the commandment to LOVE!
Our hearts must remain pliable before our Father. We cannot allow offense, rejection, betrayal or mistreatment to harden our hearts and alter the character of the Kingdom within us.
Honestly, IN GOD, our love becomes SUPERNATURAL!
Kingdom love goes beyond ordinary human expression. It is not merely reciprocal—“I love you because you love me.” It is a love empowered by the CROSS!
If we only love those who agree with us, celebrate us, honor us and treat us properly, then our love has not gone beyond ordinary human exchange.
That is not yet supernatural love!
And if we take what Jesus is teaching about love and connect it back to the previous verses, we discover something powerful:
It is through this LOVE that we become the SALT of the earth.
It is through this LOVE that we exemplify LIGHT in the earth.
KINGDOM LOVE is not proven by how well we love those who love us. It is revealed by how we GOVERN OUR HEARTS toward those who do not.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son…”
—John 3:16
God did not wait for the world to love Him properly before He demonstrated His love toward it.
THIS is the kind of love we should long to obtain, demonstrate and exemplify in the earth!
The platform may cause people to see US…
But Kingdom influence should cause people to see our FATHER!
—Prophet Crystal
PS. I The Simplicity of God's Word!
See less

