June 11

That They May See Your Good Deeds

“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 by men.

“You are the light of the world. A city 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 men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven”

Matthew 5:13-16

The commotion outside her window interrupted Dr. Ruth Slifer, a Lutheran missionary to India, as she sat at her desk busily trying to finish some important paperwork. The noise was not coming from the street, but from the side of her house. Concerned, she called to Raja Rao, her house helper. When there was no answer she went to check herself, and there she found Raja Rao filling containers of water for a long line of people from her own garden faucet.

When she inquired, she learned that the water had been cut off at the clapboard village across town. But why had they come so far, she questioned. The people knew they could get water there, because she had a “Christian pipe,” she was told.

It was a strange adjective to use for a water pipe, but Ruth recalled that she had heard the same adjective used one time previously when she had given people a ride in the mission station wagon. “You have a Christian car,” was the comment.

Another instance that she could recall was similar. “I noticed that the top shelf of the refrigerator was crammed with the contents of both shelves, while a bowl of something strange was on the lower one. I was away, Raja Rao had said, when Mrs. Subramaniam (my landlady, lived next door) had brought it over. She was expecting family from places distant. The next day when she came for her bowl, I was at home. She thanked me and added, ‘You have a Christian refrigerator.’ ”

“ ‘There’s a sermon here,’ I mused, turning from the window to go back to my desk. ‘A Christian pipe, car or refrigerator—person too!—looks like any other. It’s how useful they are, whom they serve and why that makes the difference.’

“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” ¹¹