If you’ve attended church for any length of time you’ve undoubtedly heard the phrase, “We are to be the salt and light of the world.” I’ve often wondered if we Christians truly understand what this phrase means. Thankfully for us God has provided not only the edict but the definition of just why we are to be ‘salt and light’ in Matthew 5:13-16. Let’s break this scripture down…
vs. 13; “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how will it become salty again? It’s good for nothing except to be thrown away and trampled under people’s feet. “
Salt has so many applications in our lives. It not only preserves items, but it makes them tasty and appetizing as well. Salt also keeps ants away from your shelves, can clean your brass items, soothes a bee sting, and a multitude of other surprising uses. So, what am I saying?
If we are to be the ‘salt of the earth’, then we must be willing to preserve others from the gates of Hell, help keep the bad elements from taking up residence in lives, make an effort to work with people to help them shine up their lives and reach out to those who have been hurt by people or circumstances. But the most important part of being salt is filling our lives up so full of Christ that our walk with the Lord is tasty, appetizing, and attractive to the people who we come in contact with. Our relationship with Jesus should be so evident that others want what we have.
If we have lost the ‘saltiness’ of our Faith then we have thrown away any opportunity to attract others to Christ, and dear friends, what good is our Faith then?
vs. 14-15; You are the light of the world. A city on top of a hill can’t be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they put it on top of a lampstand, and it shines on all who are in the house.
Now, let’s think about being the “light of the world”. What does light do? The simple answer is that it allows us to see. But light is so much more than sight! It brings warmth to cold places. It promotes healthy plants and well being in animals and humans. A single pin point of light can shine brightly in the darkest room, breaking the darkness apart completely.
No one places a light under a blanket, or tries to hide it. If you’re lighting a lamp it’s because you want to use it to see. A hidden light is pretty useless, isn’t it? Why even bother to light it if you’re not going to place it somewhere it can be seen? In the same way, why call ourselves ‘Christian’ if we are not going to light the pathway to Christ?
vs. 16; In the same way, let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven.
We, as Christians, are called to be that light that shines in the darkened world we live in. We are to be a beacon of hope, a lighthouse that leads poor sinners to salvation before they are broken on the shores of this wicked world we live in. We are to reach out in warmth, reviving souls to the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. We are called to be the light that leads sinners to Christ.
As Christians, our goal should be to lead tasty lives that shine brightly in a world of darkness. So how do we do this?
We must spend time daily with God. It’s not enough to just attend an hour-long sermon one day of the week. We have to develop a personal relationship with Christ, and that requires our time and effort. And here’s the best part, it’s easy to do! Through personal prayer and good old fashioned Bible reading, we can become the “salt and light of the world” that God intended.