“You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world…” Those are Jesus’ words to you. Right after the Beatitudes—the eight blessings that Jesus proclaimed on His disciples and listeners to start His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:1-12—He paused and made profound statements of facts from verses 13 to 16.
I believe strongly that Jesus made these statements to clarify to His audience that they already had within them the capacity to live the blessings He evoked upon them. He was clarifying their identity and their state of being so they did not look for something external to validate to access the blessings. Jesus was saying, I blessed you, but let me better explain your identity so you know what it takes to activate your blessings.
ALSO READ: Nigerians Reacts As Hushpuppi Gets Another Top Rated US Lawyer
Light and salt have one thing in common. They are potent, undeniable change agents. They are active. When you introduce light into a dark room it transforms. The things that were not apparent become clear. What is hidden becomes known. The salt is the same. It can make a bland meal tasty. What was doomed to be corrupted becomes preserved when we apply salt. Both light and salt are introduced to make a difference… to save the day.
Here is my summary of the highlight of that scripture:
- Your identity is not in question. You are a change agent. You are salt. You are light.
- Your state and positioning determines your effectiveness. You can lose your taste as salt and you can hide your light so that although you were made to be a change agent, you fail to accomplish your purpose.
- Light and salt are only valuable when they stay within their calling.
- You have a responsibility to improve on the seed of your being as salt and light.
- When you manifest as salt and light and you consistently improve on your being, you bring glory to God.
There is something else about salt and light that the Holy Spirit highlighted to me. There is a prize and a price for being both. Light and salt are impactful in unique ways. When you are light, you shine. This will bring recognition, even fame. But it will also make you an obvious target. Being salt comes with his own benefits too, but it gets even trickier. Your immediate sphere of influence will know and recognise your worth. However, for most parts, you will be felt not seen. Once salt is applied, we all know it is there but we cannot see it. You are both salt and light but you have to recognise that sometimes, that means you will work behind the scenes.
I am convinced that God is calling us as Christians to move from pointing fingers to taking responsibility for the change we desire in our society. It is an aberration for the light to ask why there is so much darkness. The salt should not complain about corruption when it is the one to preserve. Jesus does not mince words about the consequence of the failure of salt and light to be, you become—worthless—useless to yourself and to society.
This is the answer to why the church is losing relevance in society. The salts have lost their taste. The lights are hiding. We are blending with the status quo rather than defining it. Creation will continue to wait eagerly and groan in pain under the yoke of its oppressors until the children of God take their being salt and light seriously.
You are the salt! You are the light! God has determined your identity. What you must work on is the alignment between who you are and what you do. Your value is in being. Start from where you are. Go and make a difference.
Motunrayo is the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer at Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.
A Weekly Contributor!
