Salt and Light
Read: Matthew 5:13-16
What is the purpose of salt? Firstly, salt functions as a preservative. In Biblical times there was no
refrigeration therefore they relied on salt to keep food from spoiling. That’s the job of disciples – to
keep the world from becoming rotten and corrupt! Christianity should benefit society, like a moral
antiseptic that keeps society from decaying. In verse 13 Jesus teaches that if salt loses its saltiness
then it would become useless and worthless. Can Christians lose their saltiness? Yes, through
worldliness. When we conform to the world and follow the materialistic, self-centred philosophies
around us then we become spoiled. Just like unsalty salt has no use in preserving food, Christians
without character have no value in preserving society.
Light, like salt, affects its environment by being distinctive. The disciple who is visibly different from
the lost will have an effect on them. But the aim of living a life of character is not self-glorification but
rather to direct attention to God, to glorify Him. Jesus is pre-eminently the light of the world (John
8:12) as Isaiah prophesied (Is. 42:6; 49:6), but this role passed to His disciples (Acts 13:47). The city
on a hill reinforces the importance of being conspicuously different. The illustration of letting the light
shine and not putting it under a bowl speaks of non-concealment. A secret disciple is no more use
in the world than one who has lost his distinctiveness and become unsalty. The world needs to see
the light of the Kingdom through the godly character of Jesus disciples. This glorifies the Father in
Heaven.
PRAYER and MEDITATION
1. Spend some time thanking the Lord for the privilege of being salt and light in the world. God
wants to use you to have an effect on the lost in your area! What a great honour.
2. Spend some time praying that you will take the responsibility of being salt and light seriously.
Ask Him to show you any areas of your character that need refining so that you can be a better
testimony to the lost. Ask Him to show you specific things in your character that you can begin to
work on today - maybe how you treat your family or your co-workers or employees or whatever
else He brings to mind.
3. Spend some time praying for the Canadian church. Pray that God would purge out worldliness
and grow the church in glorifying Him. Pray that the Canadian church would be like a city on a
hill, letting the whole nation see the distinctiveness of being His disciple.
