“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:13-16
Remember the song we used to sing when we were little? This Little Light of Mine? In the song talks about how we need to shine the light of God. Thats what the Bible tells us! Paraphrasing the verses it says to us young ladies: We are the light of the world/the school/the home. A young woman can not be in hiding when she is shining God's light." You can't hide! Our culture is focused on all the wrong things...we need to break that chain, focus on God, and by doing so shine God's love. If we focus on the negative we can't see the positive. There is over 7 billion people in this world, only 30% are Christians. And some of them may just be by name only. There is still over 70% of the world that doesn't know about God and his everlasting love. And a good number of these people are right outside your door! Now the verse also talks about salt. Our Pastor talked about this recently and it makes sense. Salt in this area was nearly worthless due to impurities. The salt would loose its saltiness due to exposure from the sun. This basically gave it one good use: road "gravel". Jesus is saying if we don't make others "thirsty" for God's love then we are just going to be trampled by the world and its distractions. Think of this person: Noah was salt & light. He was trusting in God, doing what God wanted him to do, & by doing this he was showing God's love. The people were so full of sin that they didn't pay attention. Noah still did what God wanted him to do & was blessed. Where does God want you to be salt and light in your life? For me I dance at nursing homes to cheer people up. When I use my talents to shine God's love & cheer up others, I feel blessed.
I want to challenge you today to be salt & light. Whether it is singing praises or hymns, or just showing a quiet act of mercy with joy, be salt & light. To be salt, or to be light: that is the challenge.
