Jesus Addresses Salty People
[Note: This post was originally posted March 12, 2018 on a previous blog of mine]
Chapter five. Also affectionately called The Beatitudes. I learned about them in several of my Bible college classes, yet I learned so much more on the morning I read them for myself.
Have you ever read something that you found so profound you just had to read it again? That was kind of what it was like for me when I read chapter five. In fact, I actually ended up reading it twice in one day, and twice again the following day, just to make sure I was getting everything.
What really made chapter five for me was this: almost the entire chapter was Jesus' own words. How amazing is that? I don't know if I'll ever get over the fact that we have the very words of Christ written down for us as plain as day. Maybe some of you are thinking, "No big deal." But I believe there's something so special about reading the very words and thoughts of any person. It shows the real them. It is like reading a person's diary, or reading quotes by famous people (words they said that were unscripted, unpublished), or even looking at a photograph of a celebrity who is not posing for the camera. There is no formality or restraints on these words, and I love that.
I think that religion often makes us forget the auspiciousness of Jesus' words and thoughts. We become calloused to the prominence of what He says to us because we are too busy arguing about this, that, or the other. But I'll talk more about this another day.
In Matthew 5, Christ is talking to "the multitudes," telling them about the different groups of people who will receive blessings someday. One of the last of these groups is the people who will suffer for His sake--in other words, His followers. He follows it up by saying,
13. Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
14. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Jesus is speaking in a metaphor: Christians, His people, are like salt--a seasoning that is used to bring out the flavor in foods, an element that is used to dissolve ice or break down other compounds, and a supplement that is often used to heal wounds and sores. Likewise, aren't Christians--especially in this current world--expected to "flavor" the world with kindness, help dissolve difficult people problems, and also bring some form of healing to the sick and afflicted? Yes, we are. But too often we forget the importance of these good works.
Jesus says that like salt, which isn't meant to waste away in the dirt beneath our feet, Christians should never become doormats that the world walks over. Instead, we are the light of the world that cannot be hid. Jesus compares the Christian to a man who lights a candle but hides the light. What then was the point of lighting in the first place?
Likewise, if a person becomes a Christian, what good is it if he remains hidden? What is the point of his Christianity if the very goal of the Christian is to be the light of the world? He becomes a walking paradox. His Christianity is virtually meaningless.
But Jesus says that that's not how it's supposed to be. Like the person who lights a candle for the purpose of giving light to his home, so should Christians put their best foot forward so that they can show the world their light, too.
I ended up reading this passage several times to give myself time to think about what that meant for me. What it meant for the modern day Christian. How can we do these good works efficiently enough that it shows them Christ in us?
[Let me insert here how thankful I am that Jesus' love for us doesn't depend on the quality of our works. If it did, I'm confident I'd never measure up.]
There are certainly MANY ways that a Christian can shine light on the world. Many of which are common-sense type of ways (like giving to the poor, helping the needy). But what really struck a chord with me was how many Christians just don't seem to care about doing these good works. If you grew up in a conservative Baptist church as I did, maybe you can attest to how I'm feeling. How often are we taught that our good deeds are never going to be good enough, that no amount of kindness will ever measure up to what Christ has done for us?
And I certainly agree with those statements.
However, I imagine that having those lone thoughts and never reading the rest of Scripture can be so incredibly dangerous to one's Christianity. Just because we are saved by faith and not by works, we are certainly not exempted from doing good works in this world. Instead, Jesus says, we are expected to. How else would the rest of the world see something in Christianity that is worth having?
