Being salt and light to the world around us brings a happiness and fulfillment to OUR lives, as well as it guides others through the rocky waters of this life. So very often, as we follow Jesus, we are like a lighthouse. We are a beacon to safety. We help keep others from running aground–we help keep others from experiencing the dangers of this life.
Matthew 5:13-16 (TNIV)
13 “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. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
There is a lighthouse in Massachusetts called “Minot’s Light”. The light signal, a 1-4-3 flashing cycle adopted in 1894, is locally referred to as “I LOVE YOU” (1-4-3 being the number of letters in that phrase). That’s how the light of Jesus is in our lives. Are you the light that flashes, “I love you” in your family, school, work and community?
As we take Jesus words to heart, as we are the Salt and the light in this world, we are not to conceal the truth we know or the truth that we are. We aren’t to pretend to be anything other than what we are. But we must be willing to let who we are, and who we are BECOMING in Christ, to be the salt of this the earth and the light of the world.
And here’s what’s important: To be effective in our lives we must retain that “Christlikeness”, we must be that salt…..we must be that light. By letting Christ show through in our lives people will recognize that it is by the grace of God that we are what we are. OUR light is HIS light. OUR works are HIS works done in and through us.
It’s the light that we praise, it’s not the lamp that bears that light. As we understand that and as we apply that, we become a beacon to this world–we guide others simply by being who we are in Christ to a safe place, away from the dangers of this world.
My challenge to you is to be the salt of this world, to help prevent it from decaying. My challenge to you is that as you live the BE-Attitudes, that you also be the light of this world so that those who are struggling can find the way to safety. So those that have become lost in this life can find a joy and a fulfillment that transcends understanding. Like Minot’s Light, flash the love of Jesus to all those around you.