Jesus teaches in Matthew 5:13-16, that we “are the salt of the earth… and the light of the world.”   We as believers are described as “a city set on a hill, that people may see our good works and glorify God in heaven.”  The idea here is that our lives through Christ should have influence on the world around us for God’s glory.  

Unless we have an encounter with the living Christ, that He is risen, that we have a hope for the future, we will often be filled with unbelief and even hardness of heart.  That was the predicament that the disciples found themselves in in Mark 16:14, when Christ revealed Himself to them. 

Without the revelation of God’s word and the illuminating power of His Holy Spirit, we cannot see that all of our other passions about life, the future and even God Himself, are often vain and shallow.  It is not until the reality of Jesus is revealed that we begin to be filled with God’s passion and then the desire to tell others about Him.