Salt & Light

Downloadable Reflection Guide

Salt and light do not have to be told what to do. They do not need to be manipulated in any way in order for salt to preserve or flavor, or for light to shine forth. Salt and light do what they were created by God to do.

This means that the suggestion that Jesus makes about salt losing its saltiness is intended to be a rhetorical device. Salt is not going to lose its saltiness. Now, salt can itself be lost and what it is preserving or flavoring can lose out on the preservation and flavor offered by salt, not by the salt going bad, but by the loss of the salt. This means that we are not likely to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. If that is we are still in fact the salt of the earth as Jesus declares the disciples in His presence, and by implication us to be.

Light cannot help but banish the darkness. When you turn on a light in a dark room, the darkness of the room is lessened. That is unless the light is in some way intentionally obscured or hidden. In our homes, we might use lampshades to get the desired amount of light in a room or set the right atmosphere, but the light from the lamp is itself unchanged. By implication, if we are “the light of the world” but our light is unseen, then we must in some way be obscuring that light from the vision of others. Evil is able to hide in the shadows, but the light of Christ, that shines through us banishes that evil from our presence. We are able to see the paths that the Lord has laid out before us and to assist others in walking with us and Christ as fellow disciples because our path has been well-lit (Psalm 119:105). If we are stumbling around in the dark that is by our own choice. Everything needed to illuminate our lives has been provided. We just need to allow the light to do its work in our lives.

Thoughts for Reflection

How have the images of salt and light had an impact on your walk with Christ?

How have they helped you to understand your faith in Christ?