Created to Share God's Story

Created to Share God’s Story 

Matthew 5:13-16  

A devotion written for our church to complement Sunday's message.  

Our scripture is a famous portion of Jesus’ sermon on the mount. “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how will it become salty again? It’s good for nothing except to be thrown away and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city on top of a hill can’t be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they put it on top of a lampstand, and it shines on all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:13-16, CEB) 

How can we be “salt and light” to the world, as Jesus teaches?  

The simple answer is that we live in Jesus through prayer, worship, study, serving others---and thus, we grow! There’s no magic wand, but there certainly is the Holy Spirit ever present in our lives, which is better than a wand anyway. That is a great comfort!

“Salt” is a wonderful metaphor. Remember that in Jesus’ time, salt wasn’t something to avoid because it increases the risk of high blood pressure. It was (and is) a seasoning that makes food taste better. When there is no refrigeration, salt is essential for preserving food. Salt was even used as a kind of currency in some cultures, hence the word “salary.” 

Salt (sodium chloride) doesn’t spoil and lose its flavor. That only happens when it is contaminated with other minerals. People threw out contaminated salt into the road, where it was just another kind of rock. I could go on for another lesson about how Christians lose their witness—even becoming scarcely Christian—when they contaminate their faith with loveless politics, prejudices, and similar attitudes. 

Salt is a symbol of permanence, as in Leviticus 2:13, where salt is an additive to the sacrificial offering and in Numbers 18:19, where “covenant of salt” means “everlasting covenant.” Sharing a meal flavored with salt was a way to seal an agreement. 

To be “salt to the world” means to bring good “flavor” to the world, to bring a positive power into our social engagements, to be trustworthy. 

Being “light” may be an easier metaphor to understand right away. Light enlightens! It makes things clear. In the ancient Greek language, the words for “light” and “truth” are related to one another. “No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house” (vs. 15). What a blessing to have light! 

There is a bit of humor in verse 15, too. In those days, light came from fire. You wouldn’t put a basket over light—duh!—because the basket will burn and maybe your house, too. Sometimes Jesus made amusing observations like this. (Another example is Matthew 7:9-10).  

We can’t forget the image of “city” in this passage. “A city on a hill cannot be hidden” can be an image of light and visibility. But Jesus also refers to a community of believers who bring flavor, preservation, and trustworthy witness to the world.  It’s worth reminding ourselves a million times what John Wesley said: There is no holiness but social holiness.  

What does “salt and light” mean in the context of God’s creativity? Listening to the sermons these past few weeks, I’ve enjoyed hearing folks’ stories about ways that they serve. We all have special gifts, talents, and passions by which we are God’s beauty—God’s salt and light”—in the world. We’re all different, and that’s wonderful! Norman Rockwell didn’t paint like Monet or Caravaggio. Led Zeppelin didn’t write symphonies like Beethoven and Haydn. We need lots of expressions of creativity in our lives. God loves for us to season and brighten the world in Christ’s name through our talents and creativity.