In Matthew 5 Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth! You are the light of the world!” Wea are called to be both salt and light. Why did Jesus call us both salt and light? Some might rightly say in order to emphasize the principle he gave two parallel metaphors. But within the Hebrew context there is another reason.
From the early times the teachers of Israel understood the metaphor of salt to refer to the workings among their own. That understanding grew from a Covenant of Salt that God gave to His people in Exodus. The teachers understood the metaphor of light to refer to bringing the good news to the gentiles. Isaiah often referred to the light for all nations or the world.
Jesus calls us to be both salt and light. As salt, disciples of Jesus are called to flavor and to season fellow believers. We do that through encouragement, through fellowship, through mutual accountability and through a number of other means. We season each other so that we are not only flavored as individuals but so that the community of believers is preserved and strengthened.
We are light. Those who are salted, that is those who are rooted and well-grounded in the faith, must become those who flavor others within the community but who also let their lights shine to the world.
We are not called to be just salt. We are not called to be only light. We are called to be both salth and light. At KCMS we want to give our developing disciples of Jesus opportunities to be both as well.
Of course, too little salt is not very tasty. But too much salt is almost worse. Too little light doesn’t illuminate anything. Too much light is blinding. May God give us just the right amount of salt and light.