Being who we are in the Lord

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:13-16

From the text, God has called His followers to be His salt-and-light servants in a flavorless, dark society. He wants us to be committed to the task before us; salt must not lose its taste and light must not be hidden. He reminds us that we are called to be a blessing to others. He placed us to a position where we could provide positive influence to those around us. Probably the greatest tragedy of Christianity through its changing and inconsistent history has been our tendency to become like the world rather than completely different from it. The prevailing culture has sucked us to conform instead of us being used by God to facilitate transformation. We are responsible for our salt not losing its saltiness and our light not becoming obscure or hidden. Every once in a while it is helpful to ask ourselves some very hard questions to find out if we are true to our commitment. In order for us to provide positive influence we must refuse to become "rabbit-hole Christians." For salt to provide flavor and for light to be seen, we must make contact. The very fact that we belong to Christ and we are His servants, we don't adopt the system of the world. We are to march to a different drumbeat for that is how we can influence others for the Lord. In fact, we are influencing others even when we aren't trying to act "religious" or preach from a pulpit. God wants us to live according to our new nature---being alive in Christ, purposeful, hopeful, and joyful! Christians should be living in such a way that others will pause and consider what is different about them. “In your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Pet. 3:15).

Blessings,

Noel De Guzman

www.my-wbc.com