Change agents, not spectators
Matthew 5:13-16 “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world – like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” New Living Translation Study Bible
I cannot count the number of messages I have heard (and taught) from this section of Matthew. The Expositor’s Greek Testament provided the 4 point outline I remember hearing often about salt…1) the salt must be pure, 2) the salt preserves against corruption, 3) the salt flavors the food, and 4) as a manuring element salt fertilizes the land!
Rather than such specification, I would like to focus on the generality in Jesus’ words. What do salt and light have in common? They both change things. Some years ago, I spoke on this passage with all the lights in the room off except one spotlight shining on a table. On the table was a glass of Mountain Dew and a shaker of salt. As I talked about the effect of the spotlight, it was easy to see the light changes its surroundings. When I picked up the glass of Mountain Dew, I asked if anyone wanted it? As a young man stepped forward, I opened the salt shaker, poured a couple of tablespoons in my palm, then dropped it in the glass. As the soft drink began to foam and fizz over the top of the glass, the young man returned to his seat…the salt CHANGED things.
Jesus was saying to the disciples who followed him they were to become agents of CHANGE. The world was not to remain the same wherever they went! This is precisely what the followers of Jesus are being told NOT to do. In the Western cultures, the church is being urged to stay within its walls, leaving society alone. In Oriental societies, Christians are often ridiculed and persecuted, because they have focused on changing the culture. Perhaps, we have missed the point about what change is to be wrought by the presence of the the Light of the World. Christ’s followers are to change the NATURE of the individual, and bring God’s Kingdom to earth more than change the style of dress. Believer’s are to bring change through breaking the power of Satan over lives and the fear through which he controls people!
The other generality is that we cannot attempt to say this role belongs to someone else. The disciples who followed Jesus we hardly to politically connected or the religious leaders of the day. To them Jesus said, “YOU (emphasis mine) are the salt of the earth. YOU are the light of the world.” Jesus never said, “find the right political candidate who is salt and light and elect them to change things.” We never read in Scripture, “seek the most effective and powerful religious leader to bring about change.” No, WE are to bring about change on our streets, within our apartment communities, throughout our neighborhoods, across our cities, then around the world!
If we are not changing things, I wonder if Jesus is preparing to throw us out? We cannot say, “I cannot do it.” “He can do it so much better.” “She shines much brighter.” Every follower of Christ, even an unlearned fisherman, is to be a world changer. A lamp does not need to be a searchlight to change its surroundings. God will use us to change what He wants US to change. No excuses allowed. You think about that!
Praying for more to be His,
Reggie Hundley
Executive Director
Mission Services Association, Inc.
the missions network
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