THE SALT AND LIGHT EFFECT
SCRIPTURE
You are the salt of the earth. 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. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
-Matthew 5:13-14
The TV commercial for a popular salted chip brags that you can't eat just one. Salt creates an appetite for more. Is that why Jesus used salt to remind us how to live our lives to help people develop an appetite for God? It's the salty-chip response. We are to be God's bag of salty chips for the world around us. Will our neighbors--the soccer family we see at games, people we get to know at the gym--get a taste of God's love by interacting with us?
And what did Jesus say would happen if we lost our saltiness? We would get trampled. Have you been feeling a little trampled in this world? If so, could there be a connection with our lack of saltiness?
In case we didn't get the message, Jesus went on to talk about the light effect. We know that we need light to see. But Jesus wasn't telling us to carry flashlights or pay our electric bill. He wants us to make sure the light of God lives in us. This is light that needs no words to be recognized.
Don't misunderstand here. This isn't a vote for a silent witness. This verse reminds us to keep God's light in our lives with our words, attitudes, and perspectives--not by pointing our fingers and using words that repel, divide, or destroy people. We need words of light that speak the truth in love.
The world is filled with bland and dark lives. We are called to be salted people with light that shines out in every way possible. It is a counter-cultural way to live, that's for sure. But it can't be artificial. We begin with more of God in us. We look for his light wherever we experience darkness.
Jesus living in us is the hope of this world. But it will take a lot more salt and light. Are we up for the challenge?
BURNING QUESTIONS
1. How can you monitor the saltiness of your Christian witness? What would make you saltier?
2. Who needs you to be God's light in their darkness?
AFFIRMATION
The closer I walk with Jesus, the more of his salt and light I can share.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Holy Lord, help me exchange my complaints about this world for more salt and light that I can share to make a difference your way!
SCRIPTURE
You are the salt of the earth. 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. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
-Matthew 5:13-14
The TV commercial for a popular salted chip brags that you can't eat just one. Salt creates an appetite for more. Is that why Jesus used salt to remind us how to live our lives to help people develop an appetite for God? It's the salty-chip response. We are to be God's bag of salty chips for the world around us. Will our neighbors--the soccer family we see at games, people we get to know at the gym--get a taste of God's love by interacting with us?
And what did Jesus say would happen if we lost our saltiness? We would get trampled. Have you been feeling a little trampled in this world? If so, could there be a connection with our lack of saltiness?
In case we didn't get the message, Jesus went on to talk about the light effect. We know that we need light to see. But Jesus wasn't telling us to carry flashlights or pay our electric bill. He wants us to make sure the light of God lives in us. This is light that needs no words to be recognized.
Don't misunderstand here. This isn't a vote for a silent witness. This verse reminds us to keep God's light in our lives with our words, attitudes, and perspectives--not by pointing our fingers and using words that repel, divide, or destroy people. We need words of light that speak the truth in love.
The world is filled with bland and dark lives. We are called to be salted people with light that shines out in every way possible. It is a counter-cultural way to live, that's for sure. But it can't be artificial. We begin with more of God in us. We look for his light wherever we experience darkness.
Jesus living in us is the hope of this world. But it will take a lot more salt and light. Are we up for the challenge?
BURNING QUESTIONS
1. How can you monitor the saltiness of your Christian witness? What would make you saltier?
2. Who needs you to be God's light in their darkness?
AFFIRMATION
The closer I walk with Jesus, the more of his salt and light I can share.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Holy Lord, help me exchange my complaints about this world for more salt and light that I can share to make a difference your way!
Posted in Lent