Our Lord Jesus has a unique way to convey His teachings in the most simplistic of ways; using parables, stories and everyday life objects to teach us about our heavenly Father, about Himself and also how we are to live as the children of God. In Jesus’s times, salt was rubbed into meat to keep them from spoiling. Therefore, when Jesus said in Matthew 5 that we as Christ followers are salt and light, He was also implying that the world is decaying and dark, that it needs salt rubbed into it and light shined upon it. Both salt and light change their surrounding environment simply with their mere presence. When bonded with water molecules salt even changes the boiling and freezing properties of water! Jesus was telling his disciples and all Christians that, “You are going to make an impact and you will influence the world.”
The apostle Peter reminded us in 1 Peter 2:9 that, “we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession…” We are to be the Christ-like example, to behave differently, to treat people differently by showing them God’s love. Just like salt, Christians are to retard decay and to be a moral disinfectant in this world. The world wants something that makes life meaningful; and as salt is to food, so Christian are to be to life. We also have to remember that we shouldn’t water down the truth either, as there’s always a fine balance to be graceful sharing the Gospel to the world than to conform to the world. Lastly, salt creates thirst and Christians are called to point the way to Jesus, to the drinking fountain of living water that this spiritually dehydrated world needs.
Similar to the importance of salt in the ancient times, having a lamp to provide light through the darkness of night was a must-have. Jesus called us to be light; a metaphor for the cleansing effect of the truth upon the darkness of sin, as light destroys darkness wherever it goes. Our Christian way of life is to be lived out publicly as we interact with our school friends, our colleagues at work, our neighbours around us and with strangers & others we meet through the various walks of life. There’s no such thing as a “007 secret agent” Christian. Light is meant to reveal what’s in the darkness; light shows the way and we are called to lead people out of darkness and into God’s light.
Jesus reminded us that “A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.” When salt loses its saltiness, it cannot be made salty again and is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. During this third week of Lent, we should continue to reflect on how effective we are being salt and light to this world. Are we bonded well into our surrounding (like salt in water) and making an impact to the people around us? Or are we living a “007 secret agent” double life or being a lamp underneath a bowl so that our light is not even being seen? Let us continue to reflect and examine how we are salt and light to this world.
Blessings,
Chico