Title: Salt and Light in the Christian World
Content Title: Salt and Light in the Christian World
Bible: Matthew 5:13-16
The theme of this year's General Assembly and our church's motto is the salt and light of the Christian world. At this time, I would like to speak on this topic. The text compares Christians to salt and light. This parable is about the influence of Christians.
“You are the salt of the world, you are the light of the world.” Christians are the descriptive words of salt and light. This predicate becomes imperative. "You must be the salt of the world. You must be the light."
This verse describes the identity of Christians. As Paul said, our citizenship is as noble as light because it is in heaven, but because we live on this earth, it means beings that taste and disappear without a trace. Becoming light and becoming salt is the true identity of a Christian. The field that becomes light and salt is this world. You cannot leave this world and go deep into the mountains to become light and salt. So it says Christian spirituality is not a hermit. Leaving the world and cultivating a potion deep in the mountains is an act that is not in harmony with the Christian spirit. It is the Christian spirit to actively participate in the field of suffering while experiencing persecution and suffering in this world. Therefore, Christians must be salt and light. We must exert influence by becoming salt and light.
The role of salt can be said to have two major. The first is to taste, and the second is to play the role of preservatives. All food needs salt to taste good. No matter how delicious my food is, if the seasoning is not right, it will not taste good. Salt itself has no meaning, but the true value of salt is revealed when it enters into food and becomes a catalyst to bring out the original taste of food. Those who believe in Jesus must also go into people and become a catalyst.
Let's say there's cement and there's sand. No matter how much you mix, it doesn't make a dough. Water must enter. Then you can build walls and build houses. A believer in Jesus is someone who makes the boring world fun and the meaningless things meaningful. Salt also acts as a preservative. to keep it from rotting. Christians are the preservatives of a decaying world. Society is immoral. Christians live in an immoral society. Otherwise, it becomes salt that has lost its taste, far from acting as a preservative. If that happens, there will be no land for Christians to stand on.
There is a salt farm that makes salt in Korea, but it is said that there was rock salt in Israel. A pillar of salt. It is the salt attached to the stone. If it rains, the salt will melt and you will be left with nothing but stones. Then it is just a useless rock. Salt does its part through self-sacrifice. It melts without name and without light. This is how you fulfill your calling with salt.
The next topic to consider is the Word of Light. Jesus said that Christians are the light of the world. Light has brightness, warmth, and has the power to grow life. Light drives away darkness. In the house of Israel, there was a device for hanging lamps, which is called a lampstand. Since the lampstand was located on a high place, the lamp placed there illuminated every corner of the room. Light drives away dark shadows. Many people wait for the shadows to disappear and do not try to become the light. We must not forget that I must be the light first. When ships sailed through the dark night sea, when it was impossible to tell where the land was and where the sea was, there was a time when they lit it from afar and saw the light of a lighthouse and entered the harbor safely.
Also, there is warmth in light. Warmth is the opposite of cold. A person with a warm heart is a Christian. You need warmth to cover your blemishes and cover your teeth.
And light has life. Anything that has life grows. It gives life not only to yourself, but to those around you. Christians exist as givers of life. Amen.