Salt and Light living
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CONFUSION. Resentment. Fear! On the verge of a small panic and people running around with whispers of mistrust. Do you think I’m speaking of the feelings of many generated today? I’m not. I’m speaking of the night after President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.
An angry mob had spilled out into the street after the evil deed, and as things were turning worse -one named James Garfield had sped up onto the theater roof and exclaimed to the the gathering, “People! The Lord reigns! Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne!”
As Garfield exclaimed his proclamation of Psalm 97, the crowd ebbed and tensions lessened.
I’m giving this example as it seems it gives the question of where is the Christian today? If you are a follower of Christ Jesus, where should you be as today’s news talks give confusion, resentment and eventual fear of division and national issue. Should you be in the crowd, being stirred and whipped around by each controversy and popular resentment?
Or should we be the one who becomes the beacon, the light in the dark that reminds all who hear that God still reigns?
That “Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. “ (Ps 97:11)
and “Let those who love the LORD hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. “ (Ps 97:10)
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
“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.
“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”
“No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.”
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
WORDS OF NOTE
‘Salt of the earth’
‘loses its saltiness’ - moranthe: aramaic word both for being tasteless, and to being made foolish
‘Light of the world’
Glory to your Father