Salt, Light, and Living Water
John 8:12:
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 3: 19:
“And this is the judgement: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.”
One doesn’t have to look too hard in our nation, to see the darkness of John 3:19 being played out. Pick the subject matter, whether the economy, the national political infrastructure, the drug epidemic, human trafficking, the suicide rate, and we could continue with dozens of other examples, but one would truly have to be blind, or blinded , not to see the dark veil coming across our nation. It is always easier for us to see “their” darkness though right? I think many Christians prefer to do that, actually. We can deflect from our own sin that way. We can stay distracted by the seeming chaos, or we can pray and ask the Lord to show us our own dark places. Because until we can humbly surrender our sinful nature to God, we can’t be effective, we won’t reflect God’s light, and the Living Water of the Holy Spirit will not flow through us.
The question and challenge to the remnant of Christians still clinging to our faith in Christ is, what can we do, other than to pray, to personally push back the darkness? But first, are we living the faith we confess? Or are we allowing our faith, works and relationship with our Father to be subverted by the pressures and ongoing turmoil in the world? For those of us who have not been called to the fight, have we changed lanes from holiness to politics? Or are we digging our heals in, remembering what we have been called to do as followers, which is be the Salt, Light and Living Water of Christ to the world and remain on the narrow path while doing it.
Have we forgotten we are representatives of HIS Kingdom? That we are commissioned to go make disciples, to love the poor and encourage the downtrodden as well as each other? Do we remember we are called to serve without complaining, to die to ourselves daily, to pick up our cross and follow Christ? Do we remember we are called to pray for our leaders, bless others when they curse us, walk in humility and forgive 70 x 7? ( Matt 28; James 2; Proverbs 14; Hebrews 10; Phil 2; Luke 9; 1 Tim 2; Romans 13; Luke 6 )
After the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5:13, Jesus told his followers “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt loses its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored”? Again Jesus told his disciples in Matt 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” We are here to make an effect on others. Just like salt does to food. The only way for salt to lose flavor is when it is mixed with other chemicals. It still will look like salt on the outside, but it has lost its saltiness. So it is with us, when we mix truth with worldliness. We can speak “Christianese” on the outside, but inwardly, we become compromised and ineffective and are no longer agents of God’s Truth.
Similarly, Jesus invites us to not hide our faith in God from others. Light works openly. Believers are light because they reflect God, and the world is dark because they reject God. Like a town on a hill that is seen from far away, we should be a light for others to see, so that others have the opportunity to come to God. We should be sharing not only the truth of the Gospel, but also our own faith, our testimonies, and God’s authentic love and mercy, all while living surrendered lives. That’s how the world will see Jesus. Every day we have an opportunity to be a light in someone’s life.
In John 4:10, Jesus told the woman at the well “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and would have given you living water”. Jesus was referring to His fresh flowing, life giving power though His Spirit who seals us for salvation. We are temples of His Holy Spirit, and only by surrendering our sinful nature to His indwelling work within us, are we, able to be effective, bold witnesses of Christ. God has putin us everything we need for Godly living. For a born again, believer, it’s not that we need more of God, It’s a matter of, how much of us we have given him. ( 2 Peter 1: 3-4)
I’ve always been intrigued by the parable of the ten virgins. ( Matthew 25) Although they were all female, all virgins, all dressed for the wedding, all were waiting for the same event, all had the same opportunity and same lanterns, only five carried extra oil anticipating a wait for the Bridegroom with their lamps trimmed. Five of them were just there, unprepared and left standing when He came. So what does a trimmed lamp look like in 2023? For a born again believer, it looks like serious time on our knees in prayer and communion with God. It looks like daily repentance. It looks like time spent in the Word daily building our relationship with Jesus, and it looks like serving others joyfully. (First two commandments).
Finally it looks like sharing the Good News of the Gospel with those who are lost. I believe personally, evangelism applied in our daily life completes our joy. I have found this to be especially true over and over the past few years.We MUST slow down our lives, businesses and ministries to stop for that one daily, “ woman at the well” who God will put in our path if we ask. One encounter with Jesus changed the course of her life and consequently the lives of others in the town of Sychar.
My take-aways from the parable of the ten virgins: All believers are on a journey to meet with the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. If we do not know this, we will have problems in our walk with God. All believers start out with their lamps burning. The time of “sleep” represents the time between our salvation and the hour of the imminent coming of the Lord. Jesus is coming soon ( Rev 3:11a). The midnight cry represents the signs announcing the imminence of the rapture. What believers do at this time matters so much. The lamps ( Light) of the foolish virgins went out because the oil was used up.
This oil fuels the flame and cannot be shared. The oil represents an individual’s solid faith and mature relationship with God. No one can do that for us. (In other words, your faith and relationship with God will not get me into heaven). Our faith in and relationship with God is by His pure Grace. It comes from yielding ourselves to His Holy Spirit so He can draw us into relationship with the Father, then help us follow the Lord’s commands and be witnesses of the Good News unto the world. And so in that, we become doers, not just hearers of the Word. If your light has ceased shining, then you are low on oil and maybe your lamp needs trimmed, but the good news is that God’s mercies are new every morning if that be your case. If your light is shining, then you have much oil.
Keep on with the fill-ups and keep trimming the lamp! We wholeheartedly believe, if our relationship with Jesus is our greatest pursuit, then being His ambassadors of Salt, Light and Living Water to a lost world should be our greatest joy. Amen?