SALT AND LIGHT
MATTHEW 5:13-20
“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 underfoot.”
As salt must be salty, a Christian must reflect the Christ he or she follows. It is not that the Christian must fully and perfectly be Christlike—that would be impossible this side of heaven—but he or she as a disciple of Christ must be Christ-ian in some ways (is it about going to church and singing Christian songs, saying grace before meals, being baptised, or about showing love and kindness, being clean and ethical in business, being forgiving and merciful in relationships). Simply put, when people speak of us, we would want to hear words that Jesus himself would be happy to be described by. Not always, of course, but it reflects what people taste of us and what people see in us.
Jesus says that salt that is not salty is useless and should be thrown out. What then is he implying about Christians who claim to follow him but show no signs of it (see Matthew 7:21-23)?
Jesus goes a step further to say that we are sources of light to people around us and so we must be positioned so others may benefit from our light; they may see our good deeds and glorify God. A Christian is not to be in isolation, or be opaque. This doesn’t mean that every Christian must be an extrovert, but our lives must come into contact with others and bless them. Because they experience our “Christ-ianness” they give glory to God. While Jesus does not imply that we should always use religious language like “praise God!” or tell people “it is God who has enabled me to be who I am”, there is the idea that the way our lives impact those around us would cause them to think of God positively. It is not in words but in deed and character, and it is not what we think but what those around us think.
In the simple reference to salt and light, Jesus points out how we should love God and love our neighbour—the very essence of what God commands us to do—the saltiness of Christian salt and the light of Christian lives. Surely before we speak of Christ to those around us, our lives should demonstrate that our Lord deserves their praise and glory.
The Gospel enables this because the sacrifice of Christ cleanses our sin away and we are deemed perfect by God and this in turn allows him to give us his Holy Spirit who pours God’s love into our hearts. As salt and light, we live in ways that allow that love to express itself so that others can see, feel and be blessed by it.
The Christian faith is neither easy nor is it difficult. Rather, it is deep, reaching into our minds, our hearts, our souls, for that is where our salvation is worked out.