You are the salt...you are the light

In perhaps his most famous discourse, what we have come to call The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus stated that his followers were "the salt of the earth" and "the light of the world." (Matthew 5:13-14). Salt is designed to cleanse, purify, preserve and enhance. Light illuminates obstacles and pitfalls, enabling one to navigate safely through darkness. Two brief observations:

  • Both salt and light are designed to be noticeably different from their surroundings. "Unsalty" salt and hidden light are useless, failing to fulfill their purpose.

  • Salt and light must permeate their surroundings to be beneficial. As the children's song so well declares, "Hide it under a bushel, No! I'm gonna let it shine."

As disciples of Jesus in our time, let us not seek to minimize or hide our distinctiveness. It is a gift from God resulting from new birth in Christ. We really are different. We must embrace the distinctiveness and the power and purpose it gives. At the same time we must be present in our families, communities, and other relationships in order to bring the knowledge of truth and the healing that is only available in Christ. As Simon Peter correctly observed,"Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." (John 6:68)