13“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled on by men.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
This past weekend in our Bible Study class, our teacher used this passage as part of his teaching. He made the statement, “You ARE the salt and light, Jesus is not challenging us to be the salt and light. He is telling us that we are!” That was a WOW moment for me. I love this passage of scripture where Jesus is teaching, The sermon on the mount. He has just finished with the Beatitudes and continues with these verses on salt and light. I have read this many times, but have always interpreted it as something to aspire to, not an attribute that I already have.
As with all teaching, I needed to do some research and not just accept what is said. (commentary here, as believers, we are each responsible for making sure what we are taught is the truth! – do your own research!)
The beauty of this passage and the depth of what Jesus is teaching is amazing! One of my commentaries, put it this way: “In Scripture, mankind, under the unrestrained workings of their own evil nature, are represented as entirely corrupt. The remedy for this, says our Lord here, is the active presence of His disciples among their fellows. The character and principles of Christians, brought into close contact with it, are designed to arrest the festering corruption of humanity and season its insipidity.”
As believers, we have The Holy Spirit to guide us to be the salt or preservation of the good in the world. Our role is to freshen and sweeten the world. We can do that by simply loving others!
Dear Lord, I pray that I would be the good that others see today. Let me love others as You would. In Jesus name, Amen
The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Mt 5:13–16). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 20). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
Best post yet. Love, love, love this one and needed to read it this morning.
Thank you! Hearing that we are already the Salt in scripture was such a WOW moment for me.