Salt & Light

             I have grown up in the church and became a born-again Christian at a young age and have learned and grown so much in my faith throughout the years. One passage I have learned about a countless number of times is when Jesus calls us to be salt and light in the world, but it wasn't until this past week that I feel I really understand it.
             "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.
            You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 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.”

-       Matthew 5:13-15

            Before this week, I had pretty much only focused on the light part. As a child I learned the popular “This little light of mine” song, so I started to learn about shining God’s light when I was young, and countless more times throughout my life. But the part I seemed to forget or not dive into is the SALT.
            In a weekly Bible Study group for people around my age, we were discussing Salt & Light this past week. Here is what I learned or what finally clicked. Back in the day there were no refrigerators to store food and keep it good and fresh, but they would use salt to preserve it, so it would last. As followers of Christ we are the Salt of the Earth, which means we are to preserve the teachings of the Lord and share them with others so we can continue to keep spreading Christ’s love and message rather than not preserving it and letting what we believe wither and crumple.
            The part about light, I made some connections with as well. It talks about a city on a hill in the verse, but I never thought of how important that was. Years and years ago, the big cities and cities were generally built on a hill so others could see it from miles away, so it would be more difficult for bad guys to attach and more. If you were walking around or lost, there’s no way you would miss a city on a hill.
            What does this have to do with our lives? First off, God has called us to preserve His Word and His teachings. Which in a way means we need to continue to dig into His Word to learn from Him and His teachings, as well as communicating with Him daily through prayer. By learning His teachings and growing closer to Him, it will prepare us to be better lights.
            The world is looking at us and seeing what we do. When we aren’t actively being Salt & Light, we may easily blend in with everyone else. It may make those who don’t believe ask, “Why would I want to be a ‘Christian’ when they don’t act any different than me? They are exactly like everyone else. What’s so special?” Are we really being Salt and Light when we just blend in, or just go through the motions?
            Being Salt & Light isn’t just a noun given to us, but they are verbs, being Salt & Light is active and something we should constantly be doing. We shouldn’t be covering our light, but we should be letting it shine so bright that others want to know where it comes from, and what makes us different- a good kind of different. What makes us different or where the light comes from is the “Salt” part, and what we do with it, how we show it is the “Light” part. We want to put them together and set the world ablaze for Jesus.
            I was really inspired by what I had learned in my Bible Study, that the next day at work, I would say to myself “Salt & Light, Salt & Light” reminding me of what I am and what I should be doing.  In the study I also learned that we are each strategically placed wherever we are, and God can use us anywhere, even if we can’t explicitly discuss our faith.  I was discussing bullying and respecting others at work, and what I had to say came from my beliefs and what I have learned through the Bible without mentioning my faith, but was still able to be a positive influence. God can use each of us anywhere, even if we can’t flat out teach and use the Bible. God wants to use you.

            Here is my challenge: How have you been Salt & Light this last week? What are you going to do to be Salt & Light today? Tomorrow? The rest of the week? What changes are you going to make to actively be Salt & Light?

P.S. Here is a song, that I love about not hiding your SHINE (Light)! Enjoy!!!
                    Ready or Not (feat. Lecrae) - Britt Nicole