Today's Passage - Matthew 5:13-16

Matthew 5:13-16   "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.  You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."   Jesus used salt and light as analogies for Christians living in the world.  These two are the most ordinary things in the society back then, but also things that families could not live without.  For both rich and poor, salt is needed for enhancing taste; light is needed to brighten a house, whether it's the rich with lots of lights or the poor with a tiny little oil lamp.  For everyone rich or poor, salt and light are indispensable for daily living.  Even though Christians might be ordinary people, we also play a critical role in the world.  Our existence in our living environment is also indispensable.  We often neglect this truth, thinking that it makes no difference for the world to have one more Christian; as long as the churches and pastors are witnessing for Christ, no one would ever notice us.  Actually, the Lord said that we are the salt and light; it doesn't just refer to us witnessing as a group, but also witnessing as individuals.   The Lord also demonstrated a clear contrast here - You on the one side, and the world on the other.  Christians are indispensable because we are different from this world.  It's like the difference between having taste and having no taste, brightness and darkness.  If salt loses is saltiness, it loses its unique function, and it's no longer indispensable.  Similarly, if a lamp is placed under a bowl, it no longer functions as a light and cannot bring brightness to the dark surroundings, and thus loses its function too.  The most serious crisis faced by the church and our faith is not the complexity of our environment and the wickedness of the temptation from the world; rather, it's the fact that Christians are eager to identify with the world.  We like to introduce the ways and ideas of the world into church and faith.  We think and do what the world thinks and does.  We slowly become no different from the world, and by then the world will not think we are indispensable.  Let me remind everyone - The church is attractive to people because we are different from the world, not because we are same as the world.  It's not that we behave erratically, but the essence of our life is different.    Just like salt and light, it is our values and principles in life that distinguish us from rest of the world.  That's why Jesus preached sermon of the Mount and beatitudes before He talked about salt and light - Our lives need to be changed, and once we are changed we can manifest the glorious beauty of Christ through our daily lives.   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, please help us to see the importance of our status and role, so that others can witness our good behavior and give Father God all the glory.  May the Lord remind us and help us to be determined, and let us manifest your glory in our daily life.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!      Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow us on our Facebook page!