Jesus starts this great discourse which we commonly call the Sermon on the Mount, with eight attitudes (The Beatitudes). No, let’s look further at what Jesus taught to the multitudes of followers on that day on this mountainside in Galilee. He tells the disciples that they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
I would note that both of these statements Being salt of the earth as well as being a light of the world) are positive challenges for us TO DO SOMETHING about the world in which we live
What we want to do is to discover what Jesus meant when He uttered these words. First, we’ll look at the qualities of being Salt of the Earth.
Matthew 5:13 (TNIV)
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
Salt has different qualities. The first quality of Salt is that it is a preservative. It has this capability of preventing decay to whatever it is applied to. Jesus is telling us in many ways here that we are to help prevent the decay of our society.
Consider what our country would be like if we removed Jesus’ influence. Indeed, we are called to live in moral and ethical ways and become a light to those whose morals and ethics are skewed. It was followers of Christ that rescued unwanted discarded babies out of the dumps in the ancient middle East. It is followers of Christ today who seek to save children from abortion. In ancient days Christians were called people of “The Way” because they lived in moral and ethical ways that society did not.
Here’s a second quality of salt: When it is applied it enhances flavor. In the same way that food taste better when salted, our lives are enhanced when we follow Jesus. When Jesus is in our lives, when we follow, not just simply believe, when we seek to live like Him in word and deed, it brings out the very best in life and it flavors the lives of those around us.
The third quality of salt is that it creates thirst. When we live out the Beatitudes, we create a thirst in those around us. Everywhere that Paul went people developed a thirst to know Jesus. One man, by living out the Gospels, by loving others, by telling others about the Savior of this world started numerous churches throughout the Roman world and led thousands to a different life in Christ
It’s interesting here that Jesus tells us, “if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?”. Scientifically it is impossible for salt to lose its flavor. Salt is Sodium Chloride. However, the salt in Jesus day was mixed with many impurities, so, when the sodium chloride was leached away all that was left was the impurities….. and Jesus tells us about them, they are, “no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
Isn’t our life like that? If the salt, which is our “Christlikeness”, is the preservative in our lives, if it enhances the flavor of our lives–when it is washed away, it leaves only the impurities in our lives. What is left is not worth much at all. In other words, if we become contaminated with the impurities of this world–addiction, lust, self-centeredness, and so many more–we lose our influence. What’s left is a shell of who we could be. We need to “keep that saltiness” the “Christlikeness”.
May you truly be “salt of the earth” as you apply the Beatitudes to your daily life and follow Jesus on your life journey.