As I have been thinking about the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus gave in Matthew 5 I am drawn in by verse 13. “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.”
I have been in church my whole life. My father is a pastor so naturally I have gone to church a very long time. I have heard this verse over and over again throughout the years. However, this is really sticking out to me today for whatever reason. I have always heard the illustration of salt preserving things like meat. But salt looses its saltiness over time.
However, I think this analogy doesn’t capture the whole point of the passage. Salt is one of the most abrasive natural substances known to man. Salt does tons of stuff. Yes, it can preserve things, but it also is a great cleaning agent. Reading on into verses 14-16; Jesus says, 14 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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. 16In 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”.
So how do we keep our saltiness? All salt looses its saltiness at some time or another, right? What I think Jesus is saying here is this. Don’t let yourself get to the point where you are no longer going “against the grain” of this world. Don’t ever stop fighting and swimming up stream. Don’t start to loss your grip and start to become like this world, because that’s when you start losing your salt. That’s when you start becoming un-effective. When people stop feeling the sting of the salt in your life, look out because you’re starting to get bland and your meat is starting to rot.
I love the beginning of verse 14 because Jesus is telling us what we are. He is telling us that we are the light of the world. I love how that phrase sets a vision for us as believers. You ARE the light of the world. Not you are going to be the light of the world, someday, but right now you’re really not doing such a great job. He says you ARE the light of the world. That just makes me tingle all over because I am the light of the world. Jesus just told me so. However, there is a “but” that comes to my mind. Have I lost my saltiness? Jesus was salt too and people loved and hated Him for it. Notice that in the crucifixion story it is the religious leaders that find the salt of Jesus the most painful, the most repulsive. However, through out the life of Jesus sinners and thieves were the ones that found Him irresistible. His salt made them thirst for more.
Don’t lose your saltiness. Stay grounded in the Scriptures. Be the light that Jesus has empowered you to be. Shine before all men.
I have been in church my whole life. My father is a pastor so naturally I have gone to church a very long time. I have heard this verse over and over again throughout the years. However, this is really sticking out to me today for whatever reason. I have always heard the illustration of salt preserving things like meat. But salt looses its saltiness over time.
However, I think this analogy doesn’t capture the whole point of the passage. Salt is one of the most abrasive natural substances known to man. Salt does tons of stuff. Yes, it can preserve things, but it also is a great cleaning agent. Reading on into verses 14-16; Jesus says, 14 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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. 16In 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”.
So how do we keep our saltiness? All salt looses its saltiness at some time or another, right? What I think Jesus is saying here is this. Don’t let yourself get to the point where you are no longer going “against the grain” of this world. Don’t ever stop fighting and swimming up stream. Don’t start to loss your grip and start to become like this world, because that’s when you start losing your salt. That’s when you start becoming un-effective. When people stop feeling the sting of the salt in your life, look out because you’re starting to get bland and your meat is starting to rot.
I love the beginning of verse 14 because Jesus is telling us what we are. He is telling us that we are the light of the world. I love how that phrase sets a vision for us as believers. You ARE the light of the world. Not you are going to be the light of the world, someday, but right now you’re really not doing such a great job. He says you ARE the light of the world. That just makes me tingle all over because I am the light of the world. Jesus just told me so. However, there is a “but” that comes to my mind. Have I lost my saltiness? Jesus was salt too and people loved and hated Him for it. Notice that in the crucifixion story it is the religious leaders that find the salt of Jesus the most painful, the most repulsive. However, through out the life of Jesus sinners and thieves were the ones that found Him irresistible. His salt made them thirst for more.
Don’t lose your saltiness. Stay grounded in the Scriptures. Be the light that Jesus has empowered you to be. Shine before all men.
