I wrote this post and set it up to be published before I figured out that I had previously written on these verses. I was about to hit the delete key but after reading the two posts, there are enough differences in the observations, that I decided to publish this one.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all 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 who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14–16, ESV)

When I think of light, I think of two main characteristics:

1. Its ability to dispel darkness
2. Its ability to serve as a guide

Dispel Darkness

Have you ever experienced a power outage where you walk into a room, flick the light switch and then remember that there is no power? We are conditioned to turn the light on so that we can see what is in the room we enter. The light from the electric bulb will dispel the darkness in the room, allowing us to see what is in there.

Jesus is not saying that we glow in the dark and dispel physical darkness. But his is saying that our lives should be lived in such a way that we dispel spiritual darkness.

How can we dispel darkness?

We are told in John 9:5 that Jesus claimed that he himself is the light of the world. When we demonstrate Jesus to the world around us we are reflectors of that light which can change hearts and minds and bring them into relationship with God.

Serve as Guide

A city on a hill can be easily identified at night by the light it emits. If you are traveling through the valley at night, the light from the city will allow you to maintain your bearing and get to your destination.

How can we service as a guide?

Jesus tells us in the verses quoted above that we are such a guide when we demonstrate the effectiveness of the Gospel to change lives. The fact that we are different than we were should be some proof of the claims of the gospel.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29:

“For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” (ESV)

What Paul is saying is that God takes men and women who have nothing that the world values and turns them into ambassadors who demonstrate the power of God to change lives. Those changed lives are the light on a hill that should draw others into the power of the Gospel.

What these verses are not saying

These verses are not a mandate for Christians to “take back our country” or to force a moral code on those who are unwilling to be subjected to it. There is nothing in Scripture that tells me that God is satisfied with behavioral modification. God is interested in the heart. Change the heart and behavioral change will follow.

My hope

We are called to dispel the darkness by growing in our relationship to God and being obedient to what he has called us to do. We are to be a beacon of hope to a world that desperately needs something to be hopeful about.

It is my hope that the church will increasingly be that light . . .

There is a scarlet oak in my back yard that I planted as a bare root sapling. Currently it is 10 to 12 foot tall but it was a glorified stick a few years ago.

My family gave me some good natured teasing about the stick that I planted. It really didn’t look like much. Nor did it even look like it would survive after our golden retriever puppy chewed it off sometime during the first year after it was planted.

But it did survive and is thriving. It gives every indication that in the coming years it will become a beautiful tree.

Trees grow slowly and one has to be content with allowing the tree to grow at its own pace. I could overfeed it to try to make it grow faster, but that would likely kill the tree. All I can do is put the tree in the right environment, make sure it has enough water and wait. The tree will take up nutrients and water at the right pace to keep growing.

There is no magic program, no magic sermon series, no magic seminar that will cause instantaneous spiritual growth. Growth happens at a pace that is slower than we might like.

I certainly have found this to be true in my own life. Sometimes I think that I should be farther along in spiritual maturity but when I look back, I can see the slow, steady growth that has already taken place.

If you are a church leader and you are frustrated with how fast growth is taking place in your church, think of an oak tree. They do not grow fast, but they are strong. If you are a small group leader or Sunday School teacher, think of that oak which slowly absorbs the nutrients and water and grows as a result.

If we are faithful in teaching Scripture and faithful in living out what we know, if we are faithful in loving God and loving our neighbors, then those in our care will be getting the food that they need to grow.

I am reminded of the words of Paul,

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” (1 Corinthians 3:6, ESV)

Think of trees. Tall trees. Strong trees. Trees that will weather the storm.

The author of the Book of Hebrews says this about Jesus, “who for the joy set before Him endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2).

What would cause enough joy to make the pain and suffering of the cross worth while? Something that could provide that much joy must be something of extreme value. It must be something that is worth obtaining.

If you are wondering what Jesus considered valuable enough to make the cross worth it, take a look in the mirror.

The object of Jesus’ joy is staring back at you.

As I pointed out in a previous post about Matthew 5:13, three properties of salt stand out to me.

1. Salt makes a person thirsty
2. Adds flavor
3. Works as a preservative; it fights decay

It seems to me that all three aspects of being salt need to be in operation.

But salt also stings when it gets into wounds.

“If salt gets into a wound, it hurts, and if God’s children get amongst those who are “raw” towards God—every immoral person is an open wound towards God, their presence hurts.” – Oswald Chambers

I was trying to recall the name of the red/orange stuff that got put on scrapes when I was a kid. The internet reminded me that it was called Mercurochrome. Hopefully, its power to disinfect was in proportion to the amount of sting it inflicted because the sting of the cure seemed as bad or worse than the scrape you got in the first place.

Are Christians called to be Mercurochrome for the society around us? I’m not so sure that we are. Yes, we have the Truth in Jesus. Yes, Scripture speaks to the issues of the day, but I don’t see Jesus adding to the sting of the hurting people around him. Or, going back to the idea of salt, I don’t see Jesus rubbing salt in the wounds he encountered.

I don’t think that I can overemphasise the fact that hurting people, sinners, the dregs of society loved Jesus and Jesus loved them. Jesus did not compromise on the truth to get the people to love him. Nor did Jesus allow them to remain in their mess.

So if we use Jesus as our example of what it means to be salt and light, I think that we will have a better handle on what Jesus told us in Matthew 5:13.

I am reminded of how Jesus described his ministry in Luke 4:18-19:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (ESV)

These verses should inform our idea of what it means to be salt in the world. Do we work for economic justice? Do we work to liberate the oppressed? Do we work to bring physical and spiritual healing to those we encounter? Do we proclaim the good news of Jesus?

Yes, the church has done these things throughout the centuries, but we have also done our share of finger wagging and condemnation of those around us. We have also at times poured salt into wounds and causing more hurt than healing.

Perhaps if we did more of the things that Jesus speaks of in Luke 4:18-19 (quoting from Isaiah 61: 1-2) we would be more attractive to those outside the church.