"salt of the earth...light of the world"

It was in the middle of the greatest sermon in history, the Sermon on the Mount, that Jesus said these famous words. He wanted all of His followers to see themselves as salt and light in how they lived out their lives in the world.

Why did Jesus use these two words - "salt" and "light"?

Let's examine the first - "salt".
why salt? why not chilli or pepper or vinegar? what does salt do?
looking across the spans of time and thiking about the primary uses of salt throughout history, the first thing that comes to mind is that salt makes us thirsty. salt does sth else too. it spices things up. we reach for the salt when something tastes bland to enhance the flavour. finally, salt preserves. in ancient times, salt is use to preserve food frm turning bad.

Salt - stimulates thirst, adds excitement to the taste of things and holds back decay.

Don't you see now why Jesus want us to be the "salt of the earth"? When Christians are in tune with the Holy Spirit, and when they live in their world with a sense of purpose, and with peace and joy, this often creates a spiritual thrist in the people around them. likewise, when we live out our life with great faith, we catch ppl off guard. we wake people up and catch their attention. we put some spice into the lives of those around us.

In order for salt to have the GREATEST impact, it must be potent enough to have an effect. and secondly, for any impact to take place, salt has to get close to whatever it's supposed to affect. in short, salt requires potency and proximity. or, to put it in another light, salt requires High Potency (HP) and Close Proximity (CP).

what am i saying? what am i doing? why am i giving a whole anaylsis and definition of the word salt?

In order to influence people, in order to bring people to Christ, in order to see many souls coming back to Jesus, that is what we need - HP and CP. we must have high potency - a strong enough concentration and knowledge of Christ's influence in our lives that His power and presence will be undeniable to others. and we need to have close proximity. we need to get close to people we're hoping to reach in order to allow His power to have its intended effect.

Without one, the formula to reaching out to non-believers fail. Matthew 5:13 - Jesus said that salt that is without savour is worthless. it has lost its power. it won't create thrist and add spice. it can have the closest proximity, it can be poured everywhere, but it lacks potency. Jesus says its useless.

likewise, industrial-strength and highly flavoured salt has great potency. but if it isnt poured onto anything, it is pointless. Becky Pippert wrote this "unless salt gets poured out of the shaker, it remains a mere table ornament". let us ask ourselves - do we want to be just a mere decoration ornament?

i hear you ask about "light".

Light, all of us know, travels. and there is so many biblical verses to support it. Jesus wants us to travel. He wants us to spread His love. In another words, He wants us to have a Clear Communication (CC). For light to have its intended effect, Jesus says in Matthew 5:15-16, it must not be covered up or obscured in any way. and in order for us to be the powerful influence God desires, we must know the gospel message well and be ready to communicate it concisely and clearly.

It'll be then ridiculous for us to acquire great knowledge of the Word and having very close contact with our friends but not opening our mouth to share the Gospel! maybe we'll say "ok...let me work on living a consistent Christian life and also make effort to have a relationship with my friends. but pls dont ask me to say anthing. i'll just live out my faith in front of them and maybe some of it will begin to rub it off". that is wishful thinking. because just as words without actions are futile, actions without words are devoid of meaning and content. now do you see why Jesus emphasized that we need to be both salt and light?

Now what am i saying after it all? im saying that to win souls for Jesus, to impact the world requires this very simple formula, we have just discussed.

High Potency (HP) + Close Proximity (CP) + Clear Communication (CC) = Maximum Impact (MI)

Lets take a look at the benefits, shall we?
Apart from the already known stuff like escaping the prospect of hell and gaining the promise of heaven, we know that life on earth will be filled with adventure, purpose, fulfillment, growth, spiritual confidence, lasting investments and the honour of becoming agents for the God of the universe! God rejoices too! Luke 5:10 tells us that "there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents!" IT's a celestrial celebration! How better could we invest our time and energy than investing it in people, many of whom will thank us for all of eternity in heaven? What other investment will reap so high a reward?

When we become active and strategic in trying to reach people for Christ, we become more contagious in the way we live and express our faith, we find that we benfit, others benefit and even God benfits! Hallelujah!

"You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world".


Adapted from "Becoming a Contagious Christian" by Bill Hybels and Mark Mittelberg