“You are the salt of the earth. … You are the light of the world.” — Matthew 5:13-14
Penn State University, located in the heart of central Pennsylvania, has students and alumni from all across the United States and around the world. What unites these individuals from where they were born to where they are now living is their tie to Penn State. All have shared the experience of attending the university or one of its many off-site campuses.
That experience has shaped itself into a community of commonality. There is a distinct connection between each of them and who they are in reference to Penn State University. They are Penn State. On a crisp autumn afternoon you can hear the chant of “We Are Penn State” during a Nittany Lions football game in Beaver Stadium, and all across the country wherever Penn State fans gather to watch their team.
Just as current students and alumni of Penn State have a connection to one another, Christians also have a connection to one another through Jesus Christ. Those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior are brothers and sisters in Christ, possess the Holy Spirit and have the same Heavenly Father. Jesus, in teaching His disciples, states another common trait in all Christians as a matter of fact. He says, “You are the salt of the earth,” and later says, “You are the light of the world.”
Jesus makes a rather distinctive point: “You are.” No misinterpreting, it is a fact. We are, as Christians together and individually, the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
We may at times not present ourselves as if we are “salt and light,” but that is exactly who we are. And with this fact, we have a great responsibility to live accordingly. Christians are to be salt, or a preservative, in the world. Society today is decaying and rotting away at its very core. It is essential that Christians be involved in all sectors of our world, providing a much-needed moral and righteous preservative through Jesus Christ. We are also to let our light shine before those around us (Matthew 5:16). Our world has many clouded and dark areas in need of light. Christians are to reflect the light of Christ in our everyday activities.
We need to be careful not to let our salt become ineffective by adding impurities of the world into the mix, and we need to not allow the clouds of discouragement, compromise and fear of persecution to cover our light when and where it is needed most. YOU ARE the salt of the earth. YOU ARE the light of the world.
— Loring Schultz
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