Title: Salt and Light
Contents
♡♥♡ Salt and Light / Matthew 5:13-16
*** Introduction
The main text of this hour is ‘the parable of light and salt’. It is a well-known saying that I am familiar with without even saying it. Nevertheless, it is so important to think about these words again, because it is the basic attitude of faith for Christians.
The first is that there is no such money, and if there is, it will be provided for the visually impaired. The second was that if he found Gwangmyeong, he would not be able to work with the visually impaired.
Dedication and sacrifice, this is what Jesus did for us and is the attitude of the mission entrusted to us as Christians. It is for this reason that the ‘role of light and salt’ is important to Christians and is a basic attitude of faith. Both light and salt have in common that they must sacrifice themselves. That is, the Christian can reveal Christ through his devotion and sacrifice.
At all times and everywhere, there has been a question of ‘what is the church and what should it do?’ At such times, the first thing I would think of was this ‘parable of light and salt’. The reason to think of the parable of light and salt is to find the role of the saints in the world in the role of light and salt. The source is Jesus, as the text says. Jesus used the parable of light and salt as a role for Christians in the world. The reason why these words need to be emphasized in reality now is that spiritually the world is dark and losing its taste.
There was a theologian who compared the modern church to crazy Cinderella. On the cover of his book, there is a picture of a girl in ragged rags, sitting with a pair of glass slippers in her hand. The theologian's argument is this:
In a short time, she will marry a prince and become a queen, but this girl knows nothing. The girl has a pair of glass slippers that guarantee her future happiness and glory, but she doesn't know anything and is just staring blankly at a pair of shoes.
The present church has already become the bride of Jesus on this earth, and is experiencing its benefits in many ways. Not only that, you are guaranteed great happiness and glory in the future. Nevertheless, the Church is intoxicated with a secular life that does not fit this status, and is wallowing in mud with the world. In this way, the church is like Cinderella with amnesia.
Now, the church in this country has placed the material abundance, carnal pleasures, and peace that the world seeks in the highest places of blessing. If you believe in Jesus, you can live well, be cured of diseases, succeed, enter a prestigious university, and beckon as if all life's problems are solved. That is why even the saints do not try to think of the words ‘cross’, ‘suffering’, ‘sacrifice’ and ‘devotion’. ‘If you believe in Jesus… ’ The condition is sweet, but it is not easy to find what Jesus did and the path of suffering he walked.
1. What is the role of salt?
There were three main uses of salt in Jesus' day. These were the three roles: preservative, disinfectant, and seasoning.
Freezing or chemicals are now used to prevent spoilage, but at the time salting, or salting, was the best way to prevent spoilage.
Also, at the time, the drugs were mediocre. Just as the gallbladder of animals was used as an anesthetic, salt was used as a medicine to disinfect and heal wounds.
Also, it is salt that gives the taste of food regardless of east and west. No matter how many seasonings are used, if the seasoning is not right, the true taste of the food cannot be known. And salt is essential for sustaining the life of all animals.
2. What is the role of the church as salt and light?
Salt, along with the role of light, means the mission of the saints to keep the world bright and clear. Ephesians 5:9. “The fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.” 1 Peter 1:22-23 says, “You have purified your souls by obedience to the truth, that you have come to love your brother without deceit. So, love each other passionately with your heart. You have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of immortal seed, by the living and abiding word of God.” It is the church's mission to ensure that the world is not only kept bright and clear, but flavored with love.
Not only that, but as we know all too well, the Word of God is the medicine that saves the spirit, and God is the healer of the life. Exodus 15:26. “If you will obey the word of the LORD your God, do what is right in my sight, and obey my commandments, and keep all my ordinances, I will not bring upon you one of all the diseases that I have brought upon the Egyptians. It is the Lord who heals you.” And in Malachi 4:2, “The sun of righteousness will rise for you who fear my name, with a healing beam, and you will go out and leap like calves out of the stall. ” he said. In this way, the church must preach the truth of God to the world and teach it so that the spirit can live and be healed.
In this way, the lesson taught by the parable of light and salt is the mission of the church. “You are the salt of the world… You are the light of the world” means “you are the salt for the world and the light for the world.”
3. What is the attitude of the saints in fulfilling the role of the church?
Many people lament that today's Korean society, where corruption is severe, is rotten. Some say they don't want to live in this country anymore. However, the change of the world was not a thing of yesterday or today. Already corrupted from Adam's transgression. The world began to decay after man sinned and departed from God. Those who have left God did not love, thank, or serve God. This is Romans 1:21. “When they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor gave thanks; but their thoughts became futile, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
Would the world turn around by lamenting the world's corruption? Instead of lamenting, we must come forward and prevent deterioration. That is why God sent Christians as light to illuminate the darkness of the world, as salt to prevent corruption. When we say “the world is corrupt,” “the corrupted thing” is not the system or structure of this world. The people who make the structures and institutions of this world are corrupt. People's corruption permeates everything they create, culture and civilization, and every structure and institution. And it is this human corruption that brings about today's natural disasters and all kinds of disasters.
The church is the light called to illuminate the world, the salt called to prevent decay and to give life a flavor. So what should I do specifically? It is to continue sacrificing service by devoting myself in Christ as God gives me understanding and empowerment in the place of life that God has given me. When salt is present, its crystals are visible, but when dissolved in food, its shape disappears. Only the taste is alive. Jesus compared this to “a grain of wheat.” This is John 12:24. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
The Lord works when we take even a small step apart. Although small and feeble, let's join forces to start and continue. Then God will let you reap the fruit.