Influencing the World as Followers of Jesus

Matthew 5:13–16 13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Jesus compares His followers to salt and light. The Lord uses these descriptions immediately following His presentation of the Beatitudes that introduced the “Sermon on the Mount.” Jesus gave this message to His followers who gathered around Him toward the beginning of His public ministry. Through the Beatitudes, Jesus shares the delightful blessings that characterize His people as they serve Him and experience life with those around them. Their devotion to Christ, and their “blessed” behaviors, set them apart from the people of the world.

When Jesus immediately follows the beatitudes with the teaching that His people will influence people on the earth as salt and light, Jesus clarifies that being “set apart” from the people of the world is a contrast of behavior, not a separation from a connection. The people who love and live for Jesus are in the world, but they are not of the world.

Followers of Jesus are the salt of the earth. Salt is a precious commodity because it has many essential uses (e.g. a preservative, a flavoring, a cleansing agent, a herbicide, a form of currency, etc.). Life without salt would be devastating. Being the salt of the earth means the people who love and live for Jesus have a valuable purpose on God’s earth. As contamination diminishes the value of salt, pollution from the world, the flesh, and the devil reduce the value of our God-given influence on the earth.

Our reaction to such a warning could be to stay far from these potentially corrupting influences. Understanding the possibility of such a reaction, Jesus teaches His people that they are also the light of the world. The function of light to provide illumination means that light is not to be concealed or reserved only for private use. Our light comes from the attitudes, motivations, actions, and reactions empowered by God in the lives of His people. The Christ-exalting and others-oriented consistency of our good works reveal they are rooted in the power and presence of Almighty God. When people experience this light, they know its source must be God and not any achievement of man.

Child of God, the gift of life you have in Jesus Christ empowers you to influence people. May God grant you much value in your gospel mission through purity, and may you have much impact on the darkness of this world through His glory in you and through you!