¹³ “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.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ 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. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:13-16

Dear God, what kind of salt and light do you want me to be within my sphere of influence? I guess another question is what kind of salt and light do I allow into my life to strengthen my relationship with you and my faith? What do I listen to? What do I read? With whom do I visit? If I am the average of the five people I spend the most time with, what does that mean about them and about me?

But back to me being salt and light, I think sometimes it is easier to be salt and light in a secular environment. I know how to talk about my faith and the difference you have made in my joy and peace with people who do not have that frame of reference. For whom it is a foreign concept. The tricky part for me is how to get past the cultural acceptability of being a “Christian” in my community and drill down to the differences between being a nominal Christian and being a disciple.

I’m about to spend the morning with our staff in a staff meeting. I will have an opportunity to show your love to my coworkers and inspire them into deeper discipleship. I will have an opportunity to learn from them and grow stronger in my faith through their inspiration. Then we can take that salt and light and take it to each other, our volunteers, and our patients. When people come to us and they are hurting, scared, and desperate, we have something beyond our services to offer. Help us to remember that.

Father, help me to be salty and light-filled today. Help me to shine for you and spread your salt to others. And put your saltiness and light into me. Through your Word. Through your Holy Spirit. Through my interactions with others. Let it be all about you and bringing you into this world so that your kingdom might come and your will might be done on earth as it is in heaven.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen