Jesus reminded us that the way we live our lives is supposed to make people thirsty for God. It’s the potato chip response. You’ve heard the commercial: “You can’t eat just one.”
We need to be God’s bag of salty chips for the world around us. If our neighbors, the soccer family we see at games, the people we get to know at the gym, “taste” us will they “taste” God?
We don’t “try to be salty.” That’s artificial. We simply make sure we are living the well-seasoned life of God. We lead with righteousness, kindness, humility, integrity, compassion—every characteristic that defined Jesus.
And what did Jesus say happened if we lose our saltiness? We get trampled.
Hmm! Have you been feeling a little trampled in this non-Christian world? Could there be a connection with our lack of saltiness? Something to think about.
In case we didn’t get the message, Jesus went on to talk about the "light effect." Light helps us see. But Jesus wasn’t telling us to check our generator. He meant the Light of God living in us. The light that needs no words to be seen.
This isn’t a vote for the silent witness. This is a reminder to keep God’s light on in our lives with our words, our attitudes, and our perspectives.
Not with pointy finger words that repel people. Not with protest words that divide people. Not with angry words that destroy people. We need Light words to speak the truth in love.
What kills the light in us quicker than anything? Anger. Jesus called it murder. He said that what divides us on earth, separates us from God. It kills the light. It removes the salt. The only antidote Jesus offers is reconciliation. Person to person reconciliation if possible and when it’s not, we let God clear our hearts from anger’s self-ruin.
The world is filled with bland and angry lives. We are called to be salted people with light oozing out every way possible. It is a counter-cultural way to live for sure. But there is no other way to reach the world.
Every time you reach for a saltshaker, ask God to salt you a little more. And every time you turn on a light to see better, ask God to turn on more of His light in you
.Christ living in us is the hope of this world.
But it will take a lot more salt
and light!
Take the Message Deeper
Take time in the next two weeks for a short Bible Discovery you can download by clicking the picture or the button below. Need me to send it by email? Just write.
Pictures: MEHEDI HASAN
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