Evangelism
Salt & Light
This devotional is written by James Glass🤙
Matthew 5:13-16
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.
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.
Reflection
Salt seems a pretty weird choice right? But salt has value and worth, it’s where the word ‘salary’ comes from. It’s also used to preserve meat as it keeps things from going bad - without it food spoils.
The statements in the passage about being the salt of the earth and the light of the world are absolutes; they are statements of who we are in Christ, The Light of the World, the One who is more precious than silver (and salt). However, salt and light are pointless unless they fulfil their primary characteristics. Salt is either salty or it is not, light is either light or it is darkness. There are no fifty shades of grey here.
I therefore read Jesus’ warnings about not losing our saltiness or hiding our light as an encouragement to be who we actually are. Not an encouragement to revel in our sinful nature, nor to be an oblivious dufus unaware of what we’re actually like, nor even to be an impression of who we may think we are but to be who we actually are in Christ - new creations (2 Corinth. 5:17).
Light, illuminates. Salt, draws out fullness of flavour* and preserves that which is good. And through staying close to Jesus, inviting him into every aspect of our lives, we find that God illuminates and draws out who we truly are in Jesus: full-fat James, full-fat Margaret, full-fat Nigel.
Through relationship with Jesus, we find that our desires are changed, in small and large ways, public and private. One of my favourite stories from the Life Course is that a guy found that after the weekend away, he went to play a monster/zombie killing Xbox game only to find that he didn't want to kill anything - even big scary monsters! Such was the peace in him; he didn't wish to disturb it.
The ultimate purpose of this though is that we have the same effect on the world, through mirroring Jesus, reflecting him back to the world, pointing others towards him, highlighting and drawing out who they were made to be. And it’s here we can see that evangelism isn’t an optional extra in our lives - it is fundamental to who we are in Jesus or can we imagine reflecting a Jesus who doesn’t engage with the world and share good news? Thought not. Consequently, we shouldn’t be hiding our little lights - we should be letting them shine!
So with that in mind, I’d like you to consider whom you’re going to invite to the Life Course? Pray for your friends and listen to the Holy Spirit. Would you be prepared to do the course alongside them if that's what they needed?
*For those who don't cook with salt, please don't invite me to dinner
The statements in the passage about being the salt of the earth and the light of the world are absolutes; they are statements of who we are in Christ, The Light of the World, the One who is more precious than silver (and salt). However, salt and light are pointless unless they fulfil their primary characteristics. Salt is either salty or it is not, light is either light or it is darkness. There are no fifty shades of grey here.
I therefore read Jesus’ warnings about not losing our saltiness or hiding our light as an encouragement to be who we actually are. Not an encouragement to revel in our sinful nature, nor to be an oblivious dufus unaware of what we’re actually like, nor even to be an impression of who we may think we are but to be who we actually are in Christ - new creations (2 Corinth. 5:17).
Light, illuminates. Salt, draws out fullness of flavour* and preserves that which is good. And through staying close to Jesus, inviting him into every aspect of our lives, we find that God illuminates and draws out who we truly are in Jesus: full-fat James, full-fat Margaret, full-fat Nigel.
Through relationship with Jesus, we find that our desires are changed, in small and large ways, public and private. One of my favourite stories from the Life Course is that a guy found that after the weekend away, he went to play a monster/zombie killing Xbox game only to find that he didn't want to kill anything - even big scary monsters! Such was the peace in him; he didn't wish to disturb it.
The ultimate purpose of this though is that we have the same effect on the world, through mirroring Jesus, reflecting him back to the world, pointing others towards him, highlighting and drawing out who they were made to be. And it’s here we can see that evangelism isn’t an optional extra in our lives - it is fundamental to who we are in Jesus or can we imagine reflecting a Jesus who doesn’t engage with the world and share good news? Thought not. Consequently, we shouldn’t be hiding our little lights - we should be letting them shine!
So with that in mind, I’d like you to consider whom you’re going to invite to the Life Course? Pray for your friends and listen to the Holy Spirit. Would you be prepared to do the course alongside them if that's what they needed?
*For those who don't cook with salt, please don't invite me to dinner
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