In the sermon for the anniversary worship service of a church last month, I shared a message on “The Church is the Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World.” I was once again encouraged during the preparation process.

      Upon delivering the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord pointed out clearly and explicitly that the people of God have a unique identity on earth – they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Mathew 5:13-16). We are salt. That does not mean we are one kind of food on earth. Rather, we are set apart from the food, we are salt that is different by nature. The purpose of the existence of salt is to make an impact on food, to bring out its flavor (goodness) or be used as a preservative. We are the light of the world. The purpose of the existence of light is to shine on people around us and dispel darkness so that people can live in the light. Christians are not to boast about ourselves. It is because the light of Christ shines into our lives and we become a new creation. The nature of our life truly becomes the salt of the earth and the light of the world and can impact the world. Moreover, the Lord’s word solemnly reminds the church it is possible that salt can lose its saltiness, making it good for nothing. Likewise, light can also be hidden and can no longer shine on others, making people lose hope in the dark.

       How can salt lose its saltiness? In New Testament times, the salt carried a lot of impurities. When the elements of salt are lost leaving only the impurities, the “salt” loses its saltiness. If God’s people and God’s church no longer commit to the Lord, and no longer pay the price to keep up the goodness received in life, they will lose the “saltiness” that can impact the world. The Lord therefore told His disciples that if someone is not willing to take up his cross, to love the Lord more than anything else, or to give up everything that fills his life in order to follow the Lord, that person will be like salt that loses its saltiness. Even its basic values for removing weeds and being fertilizers will be lost. It can only be trampled upon (Luke 14:34-35) – The value of the existence of “salt” is to impact food. We should not be afraid of the price to pay for impacting the world. Otherwise, we will lose our saltiness and thus the value of our lives.

       If we are light, we should not be hidden. If someone lights up a lamp in the house, he will not use black cloth to cover up the source of the light! In times of power outage, some people would not light a candle for fear that it will break or will burn out. If the people of God see the needs in this world but would not use the capacities they have to help, then they are hiding their light. If they see people suffering injustices but would not speak out, then they are hiding their light. If God’s people see opportunities and needs to share the gospel or explain their faith but would say nothing, they are hiding their light. The Lord has asked us not to fear but let our light “shine before others,” even shine in a high-profile manner, so the world can see it. That will be the way to “glorify your Father in heaven.” How today’s society where the church thirsts for the taste of salt and for light to shine in darkness!