Salt and Light

As the story of our creation is told in Genesis, we are informed that in the beginning God created heaven and earth. He created the creatures in the sea, the birds in the sky and the animals on the land. He created man to watch over these creatures and ultimately each other. He gave man "free will" to choose the way man would behave.

So it is and has been and will be that man chooses how he will react to life's circumstances, to his environment, to his fellow man, to himself and to God.

As each new child is born, that child may be born into an environment where people have chosen “God's way", have chosen a "sinful way" or some combination of the two. The latter is the more likely. There are an infinite number of combinations of good and evil in every life. Some lives in tremendous sin and others almost godlike, from Charles Manson to Mother Teresa.

We can be effective for the Lord in the world or we can let the world snuff us out.  In Matthew 5:13, Jesus explains to us:  “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”

It may not be fair that one might be born into a sinful environment, having no choice in the matter. The whole world is sinful, so in reality everyone is born into a sinful environment. The fact that one life may have more obstacles and challenges than another cannot be denied. This sin was and is man’s choice, not God’s. The "Garden of Eden" story is repeated millions of times daily.

What is fair? It is fair that God's grace is available, unconditionally, to every man and woman. It is fair that God loves us unconditionally. It is fair that we, each of us, can choose to open our hearts and minds to the love of God or ignore Him. It is fair that we can respond to the ups and downs of life in any way we choose. It is fair that we can choose to perpetuate the sin which has gone before or reject it by living our lives with God at the Center. We can literally be “born again” when we are ready to meet life with the “Holy Spirit” at our side.

God sent His son Jesus Christ to show us. Man killed the messenger, but by his death Jesus took on the sins of the world (John 3:16). He left a legacy of lessons reported in the New Testament of the Bible. It is fair that we are born into the "Holy Spirit”. Once we recognize it, it’s our job to do something with it. We can start anew, love the Lord and pass it on.

We will always have difficult challenges. At the end of our very short stay on earth we will lose the right of "free will" and God will take us to His chest. We should try every day to seek God in anticipation of that day. We can recall the Gospel of John 1:1-5. "When all things began, the Word already was. The Word dwelt with God, and what God was, the Word was. The Word, then, was with God at the beginning, and through him all things came to be; no single thing was created without him. All that came to be was alive with his life, and that life was the light men. The light shines on in the dark, and the darkness has never mastered it.”    

Jesus goes on to shed more “light” on this matter in Matthew 5:14-16 in saying: “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

We must seek to be as pure as the best salt in the world, with a glow that lights up everyone around us. As His light shines upon us, let us pass it on and be a “salty light” in the world.