Religion & Spirituality
Matthew 5:13-16, continues to explore life in God’s kingdom. Jesus declares that his followers are “salt” and “light.” What imagery! Our Lord begins to explain how the heavenly kingdom is to be applied in our earthly relationships, shaped by the values and characteristics of the previous Beatitudes. As salt, primarily serving as a preservative against spoiling and as an enhancer to flavor, Christians are to be redemptive agents wherever they go in private and public contexts. As light, Christians reflect the hope and glory of the true Light of the world. Both pictures underscore how identity (who we are) shapes behavior (what we do), something which Jesus will address repeatedly, and when there is a gap between those realities it just doesn’t make sense. Salt would lose its saltiness; light would not be seen. May we, instead, live out our identity with gusto!