Salt and Light

Overview

I’m going to be undertaking a series of bible studies related to the church. I want to know what the church should be about as Jesus saw it.

Matt 5: 13-16

In this passage (from the sermon on the mount) Jesus talks about his people being “salt” and “light”.

Both these things were very important in the ancient world – even more so that they are to us in the developed world today. No cupboard filled with fancy flavourings for food, no freezers for keeping meat fresh, no light bulbs or electricity to use.

Today we are always being encouraged to use less salt – and rightly so. But this is because it is so cheap and plentiful for us that it has become something that we take for granted and use too much of. Back then it was scarce and expensive, people were even paid a wage in salt at times.

Salt is also even more important in an area where the sun is hot and most work has to be done by hand.

So then when we talk of salt we should think of something that is wonderful. It adds taste to things, it makes life possible and even at times more pleasurable.

So then this is how God’s people should be to the world. We should make it a better place to be. We should add something that without us would be missing. We should even make sure we don’t lose our taste otherwise we become useless to the world and we will be rejected.

Isn’t this exactly was has happened in so many places to the church? It has lost it’s saltiness and is being rejected? Perhaps those of us who have chosen to live a Christian life outside of the regular church have discovered this truth earlier than some and so are just being more relaistic.

What does the church add to the world?

Then there is light. Now light of course is a guide. If you don’t need to know where something is you don’t need a light in the dark. Although for some people light is important for stopping fear – perhaps we can think about this another time.

If you have ever been camping you will know what a difference a little light can make to your experience. Ever tried finding your watch in a tent when its pitch black and you don’t have a torch to help? It’s a nightmare believe me (it was a luminous watch in case you were wondering why I wanted it without a light to see it by).

Does the church show the way?

The church  – and this is one of those reasons people often leave – is often accused of being hypercritical. We say something about how life should be lived but then do something as bad or worse in another situation.

I fear that the church has taken too often to shining the light only on itself and not as a beacon for the world. The church has shut the door and pulled the curtains before putting on the light – or to put it in Jesus’ words the light has been put under a bowl.

The church then should be sending out a signal to the world of where the world can find God. How sad the signal seems to be turning people away and they are glimpsing smaller lights and being attracted to them instead.

I believe that we may be outside the regular church but that does not make us outside of God’s church. As Christians – even if we are on our own – we still need to be living as we are light and salt to the world.