Stay Salty!

 

"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. "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 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. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. [Matthew 5:13-16 NIV]

 The lights dim and someone starts singing. From around the corner, a loved one enters the room with a cake covered in blazing candles! Everyone sings and celebrates, and then the person you’re celebrating blows out the candles. In my family, the birthday child got the distinguished privilege of licking the frosting off of the bottom of the candles as they were removed from the cake. Not sure why, but it seemed like the best part! According to an article written in the Smithsonian Magazine, having candles on a birthday cake actually makes it taste better! No, the wax does not have some alchemic reaction with the frosting, it’s the anticipation and build-up that whet our palette.

 Light draws our attention. It brings meaning. It allows us to work and function. When choosing the lighting for a room, some people (like my husband) prefer that the light be mounted in the center of the room’s ceiling and ideally have bright white bulbs in it. Myself, I prefer lamps scattered about the room, giving light to the areas that need it, and nothing more. Having a history of migraines, I experience light sensitivity and avoid bright, glaring light at all costs. I wear rose-colored glasses to help, but I still prefer “warm” lighting in a room. As my blood sugar issues have multiplied, though, I have also struggled greatly with blurry vision, so lighting becomes even more important. Oftentimes, the only way I can read something is to hold it directly under a bright light.

 It's no wonder that God inspired the authors of the Bible to use light as an analogy so often. In biblical times they didn’t have electricity, so anything that was going to be done after dark required a lamp. I looked it up and, at least in modern times, sunset in Israel ranges between 4:30pm and 7:45pm over the course of the year. I don’t know about you, but I certainly couldn’t get done all that I needed to every day by 4:30 and go to bed for 14 hours until it came up again! So, being intentional with your lighting was critical.

 In verse 15, the author makes the obvious point that we wouldn’t light a lamp and put it under a bowl. If it’s so obvious, then why would he bother to mention it? Because, friends, he’s not talking about a lamp here! When a lamp is lit, light bursts forth from it’s openings. In the same way, when we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, His light and goodness bursts forth from us. The more we are saturated with His goodness, the closer our relationship with Him is, the more His light begins to show through us. I’ve often heard the analogy of our pain and failures creating cracks in our façade, but it is through those cracks that His light can shine through.

 So where does the bowl come in? Sometimes we’re afraid to share the good news of Jesus. Maybe it’s societal pressure or legal or employment consequences. Perhaps you don’t want to be seen as a Jesus Freak, even if DC Talk made it more popular. Whatever the reason, sometimes we dampen our impact, trying to make it more palatable for others. But just as throwing on a wet blanket extinguishes a fire, so too will the flame of our passion and love for Christ decay. That’s what the fourth stage of a fire is called when, “With a decrease in fuel or oxygen, the fire reduces down to embers and ash.” Here’s the good news though: “This is a dangerous phase because any introduction of new fuel loads or increase in oxygen could reinvigorate the fire.”

 Friend, if you’ve been hiding your lamp under a bowl, it’s not too late to let it shine! Just allow the breath of the Holy Spirit to reignite your flames. Cast off the covering, the dampening down to make yourself more socially acceptable. No one will thank you when they stand at the Judgement Seat of Christ for having made your testimony so palatable and uninteresting.

Here's the Thing: Taking it all the way back to the first verse in this passage, we need to STAY SALTY! Salt amplifies the flavors in a dish, and without it, even sweet treats like birthday cakes are bland. Our testimony needs to be salt and light in our world. This isn’t through some herculean effort on our part, no, as the devotional for today pointed out: “When we abide in Christ, we find that our good deeds are simply the natural overflow of His love in us.”

Abiding in Jesus

Introduction

1. Week 1: Trusting the Gardener's Work
1. John 15:1 - Seven Things Jesus Is
2. John 15:2 - Pinch Those Suckers Out!
3. Philippians 2:12-13 - Working Out My Salvation
4. Matthew 5:16 - Stay Salty!
5. 1 John 1:6 - Walking in Relationship
2. Week 2: Bearing Lasting Fruit
1. John 15:3-4
2. John 15:5
3. John 15:6
4. Psalm 1:2-3
5. Galatians 5:22
3. Week 3: Abiding in Jesus Through His Word
1. John 15:7-8
2. John 8:31-32
3. Psalm 119:9-11
4. Psalm 119:15-16
5. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
4. Week 4: Abiding in Jesus Through Obedience
   
1. John 15:9-10
2. James 1:22
3. 1 John 3:24
4. Matthew 7:24-25
5. John 14:23-24
5. Week 5: Abiding in Jesus Through Love
1. John 15:11-12
2. John 15:13-14
3. 1 John 4:10
4. 1 John 4:11-12
5. Romans 12:9-13
6. Week 6: Chosen and Commissioned by Christ to Bear Fruit
1. John 15:15
2. John 15:16
3. Ephesians 2:10
4. Galatians 6:9
5. John 15:17

Wrap-Up