Salt and Light

The last several weeks there has been a theme emerging from my blog posts. I know it is flowing out of things God is teaching me but I also believe they are for us as a church. Today I came to Mathew 5. It’s a great chapter, full of so much teaching and direction from Jesus. I feel I could hang out in it for a month and still not be done seeing the many things Jesus would show me. For this blog post we will skip past a few verses and look at Matthew 5:16.

 Even though verse 16 was the one that stood out to me, here is the group of verses it flows with. Mathew 5 starting in verse 13. Jesus is talking and says:

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 town built 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.

These are verses I have read many times and I expect you might have as well. Jesus is calling his followers, his Church, the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Great verses and they are so popular there are even a few kids’ songs that come from these as well. But it was the last verse that God emphasized to me today.

Here we are being called to be salt and light, but then the question is, how are we to be salt and light. Since there are many ways we can do that, Jesus gives clarity at the end of this section. We are salt and light when others “see your good deeds”.

So, if you’re like me, when Jesus says, “be my salt and light on this earth,” we raise our hands and say “yes” to the call. But I read that last verse and had to ask myself; have I had good deeds, and has the world seen them in a way that points to God? It’s a question we all must ask ourselves. The answer will look a little different depending on our season of life and where God has called us to be BUT the call is there all the same. He didn’t say they will hear your good words, no, he said they will see your good deeds.

So what deeds have you and I done this week or last week? Would Jesus say we are being salt and light by our deeds? It seems that is the challenge to us today….let’s go do it