Being salt and light

[Heleadethme]

Thought to start a thread about being salt and light....what does this mean?  How are we to live as Christians in this world and what kind of vision should we have.  Anyone have any thoughts on this..?

[Sower]

1 hour ago, Heleadethme said:

Thought to start a thread about being salt and light....what does this mean?  How are we to live as Christians in this world and what kind of vision should we have.  Anyone have any thoughts on this..?

Salt has savor.
It tastes good, enhancing/preserving.

God is light.
Light removes darkness.
The word is light.

"what kind of vision should we have"

My spirit moves me to be a witness, a blessing, in my walk/testimony.
I have an urgency to share the light to whomever wherever whenever.
An old faithful Christian brother, a stranger,  shared the light, the truth, to me.
I was set free.
I hope/want to be as faithful.
Every born again received light from some source.
I desire to be a source.
Don't we all?
 

 

 

 

[Starise]

I want everyone to enter the kingdom. I know this is not the reality of the situation. Even so, I want to do what I can with the Lord's help to reach those He had placed in my path. I have never been a salesman at heart. It isn't my way to see my fellow human beings as a "sell" or a conquest. 

I don't believe God works exactly this way.

Most often God uses our contributions however large or small to confirm His presence on earth through us as willing vessels. God forbid that any man would ever take credit for "saving" another. God gets all the glory and He often works in mysterious ways using the least in the world's eyes to accomplish the greatest things. 

It doesn't take much salt or light to make a difference.We are all insignificant in the grand scheme of things. It is God who wills this or that and God who uses the salt of the earth.

Edited June 22, 2021 by Starise
spelling

[Riverwalker]

Being the light means that we , with the the light of Jesus dispel the darkness if we will just shine.

As Darkness has no other definition than the absence of light

And Cold has no other definition than the absence of heat

Evil has no other definition than the absence of good (And there  is none good but God)

Jesus talks about us being a light on the hill.   That even in the darkest of hearts we can shine a beacon of light and love in Christ Jesus that  they can follow to be saved

Darkness seems enveloping and all encompassing,  but it can be dispelled with a single candle

 

As for being the salt of the earth...My first thought was that salt was used to preserve things, especially meat... and that the presence of the Holy Spirit in us preserves the world from judgment (which is kind why I am pretrib, because when believers with the Holy Spirit are bopping around the devil is not free...but that's a WHOLE different subject) 

But Jesus specifically tells us about salt losing its flavor.....which I do not really understand. does salt lose it's flavor? I just lack the cultural reference Jesus is making here

Edited June 22, 2021 by Riverwalker

[Arrabon]

@Heleadethme

I just love questions like this - Thank you.

For me I have to stop and ruminate all the verses in my head, and do a several word study searches and really get my brain in gear to answer you properly.

I absolutely love the way God uses everyday things in our lives to give us word pictures of what our life should become, and makes us think about in this case how WE, as the salt and light, if we are the salt and light, can bring the joy (Salt) of life to others by loving our own lives, being happy and thankful for all God has become to us (Light), and all He does for us, and at the same time be the light of Christ in a dark world without hope, by being a positive happy person who brings humor and laughter when all that is appropriate, but also being sensitive enough to listen and to be prepared for where people could be at, when it come to struggles and trials, and be prepared to do a lot of listening and sympathizing HONESTLY and AUTHENTICALLY.

The reason I said what I did above is because years ago years ago I learned that you can't give to others, what you haven't given to yourself first.

If you want to give genuine love and concern to others, you have to learn to love yourself first and become concerned about your own welfare, taking good care of yourself physically and emotionally, and spiritually, and second of all learn to love God, and then learn to love others in a way that God would, the best you can, by asking God in prayer to help us do those things for the good of those God brings into our lives. Living a more God centered and others centered life.

I am a genuinely happy person and love my life and love to laugh and tell funny stories, and I just plain love people.

God has given me a wonderful neighborhood ministry where I just walk the streets of my neighborhood several times a day for exercise and staying healthy (Sometimes I jog when no one is looking - LOL), and one day God revealed to me this was my new ministry, to be serving Him and others.

So during the pandemic I haven't been able to go to the gym, so I started walking, and I have gotten to know a lot of people on several local streets in my neighborhood who first started just saying hello to me, then they started slowly introducing themselves, and then we started talking and getting to know each other and just having small talk at first, but over the coarse of time, the masks of happiness have started coming off, and people have started to reveal the trials and hurts of life they are having to endure daily, and some are pretty severe and heartbreaking, even life threatening, and so I have learned to become an even better listener and better sympathizer, and at times I even get to ask if it would be alright to pray for them and I've never been turned down.

Even been asked a few times by non-believers to pray for them.

So it doesn't take much to meet people where they are in life and make a difference, if nothing more than listening to relieve some of the hurt and pain the world around you is experiencing.

As I write this, I think that was a lot about what Jesus did come to think of it. Every place He walked He was tryin to comfort those suffering and ease the pain of life, and the message he brought to the world is the same message we can bring also, not just in words, but also just in the way we approach people with a relaxed, happy, non-judgemental, and friendly  personality the makes people feel at ease with us. I have found that never being critical of anyone, speaking kindly of everyone, helps build trust and a feeling of friendship that people look forward to and are glad to see you.

Well, that's my 2 cents worth about how I have approached salt and light, and have tried to live it.

Knowing what the bible says about salt and light is good, but living it is good to.

God bless, and I hope you get many more replies @Heleadethme.

My name is Arrabon

Edited June 22, 2021 by Arrabon

[Heleadethme]

39 minutes ago, Starise said:

I have never been a salesman at heart. It isn't my way to see my fellow human beings as a "sell" or a conquest. 

I don't believe God works exactly this way.

Amen...it's not about earning brownie points with God....it's above love....if we have not love, well, we're falling short.

42 minutes ago, Starise said:

God gets all the glory and He often works in mysterious ways using the least in the world's eyes to accomplish the greatest things.

Amen...sometimes He is doing things that we don't even realize. 

[Sower]

1 hour ago, Riverwalker said:

As for being the salt of the earth...My first thought was that salt was used to preserve things, especially meat... and that the presence of the Holy Spirit in us preserves the world from judgment (which is kind why I am pretrib, because when believers with the Holy Spirit are bopping around the devil is not free...but that's a WHOLE different subject) 

But Jesus specifically tells us about salt losing its flavor.....which I do not really understand. does salt lose it's flavor? I just lack the cultural reference Jesus is making here

"does salt lose it's flavor?"

Evidently, some salts do.

There was a species of salt in Judea, which was generated at the lake Asphaltites, and hence called bituminous salt, easily rendered vapid, and of no other use but to be spread in a part of the temple, to prevent slipping in wet weather. This is probably what our Lord alludes to in this place. The existence of such a salt, and its application to such a use, Schoettgenius has largely proved in his Horae Hebraicae, vol. i. p. 18, etc.

And I believe you're correct, in that we who are the salt of the earth are entrusted to preserve God's word.
Originally, the chosen nation Israel was to preserve the oracles of God.
My wife says I use way too much salt.
She right, I always have. (I'm 74, so it does preserve:)
 

 

[Heleadethme]

26 minutes ago, Riverwalker said:

Darkness seems enveloping and all encompassing,  but it can be dispelled with a single candle

Such a good point, I tend to dwell on the negative too much sometimes, forgetting just what you are saying here.

[Riverwalker]

6 minutes ago, Sower said:

"does salt lose it's flavor?"

Evidently, some salts do.

There was a species of salt in Judea, which was generated at the lake Asphaltites, and hence called bituminous salt, easily rendered vapid, and of no other use but to be spread in a part of the temple, to prevent slipping in wet weather. This is probably what our Lord alludes to in this place. The existence of such a salt, and its application to such a use, Schoettgenius has largely proved in his Horae Hebraicae, vol. i. p. 18, etc.

And I believe you're correct, in that we who are the salt of the earth are entrusted to preserve God's word.
Originally, the chosen nation Israel was to preserve the oracles of God.
My wife says I use way too much salt.
She right, I always have. (I'm 74, so it does preserve:)
 

 

Wow thank you....that has cleared up a blank spot in my understanding that has been there for years!

As for salt....there is a difference between being preserved and being mummified

 

Edited June 22, 2021 by Riverwalker

[Heleadethme]

3 minutes ago, Sower said:

"does salt lose it's flavor?"

Evidently, some salts do.

There was a species of salt in Judea, which was generated at the lake Asphaltites, and hence called bituminous salt, easily rendered vapid, and of no other use but to be spread in a part of the temple, to prevent slipping in wet weather. This is probably what our Lord alludes to in this place. The existence of such a salt, and its application to such a use, Schoettgenius has largely proved in his Horae Hebraicae, vol. i. p. 18, etc.

And I believe you're correct, in that we who are the salt of the earth are entrusted to preserve God's word.
Originally, the chosen nation Israel was to preserve the oracles of God.
My wife says I use way too much salt.
She right, I always have. (I'm 74, so it does preserve:)
 

 

Yes, I have often wondered what does that mean for salt to lose its savour....I think it might be talking about the church or individual believers losing their effectiveness as salt and light, basically.