John 8:12 English Standard Version (ESV) Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Jesus is the light of the world.

Matthew 5:13-15 English Standard Version

Salt and Light

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.

We do not want to lose our saltiness or be thrown out, nor to be trampled under anyone’s feet. In the context of verse 13 there is no hint of how saltiness is lost to us.

In verse 14 we are told we are the light of the world but only because we have accepted the true light into our hearts. We are neither the light, nor are we the stand. It is easy to see ourselves as both but we are neither.

Jesus tells us that if we are His disciples then He will lead us by the light He shines before us that we might walk where He has illuminated our path. Walking in darkness causes us to stumble, perhaps even fall. This is a walk of faith and in that we can only see the path set before us by faith.

2 Corinthians 5:7 English Standard Version (ESV) for we walk by faith, not by sight.

This is why today’s offering follows after yesterday’s Distractions.

If we understand that, what is salt and what do we do to lose our saltiness?

In the context of discipleship salt can be seen as His righteousness in us, just as His light is in us.

What does it take to lose that saltiness, His righteousness?

James 1:13 English Standard Version (ESV) Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.

What distracts us? Initially it is those things we have found to be pleasing in our past lives. Those things have implanted a memory of pleasures in our minds. Even if we discovered that those pleasures led us to a place of repentance, the memory of the pleasure remains.

Those are the easiest distractions to recognize and we can avoid being drawn into sin. Then there are other distractions that are not so obvious because they do not necessarily lead to outright sin.

Advertisers understand human nature and they want to draw our attention to their product, no matter what that item might be. There is a sale to be made even if it only costs a few cents a day. That is not where danger lurks. The danger for us lurks in the amount of time spent pondering meaningless decisions.

We have witnessed the corrosion of familial relationships because our time is divided between making a living and the responsibilities of parenting. Families fall apart because of the amount of time dedicated to that relationship. It is not the lack of money that causes these failures, it is the lack of attention.

In the 50’s television became the babysitter. We sat in front of that light shining into our world rather than parents shining the light within them on us. This led to the sixties, a war, and division of concerns because parenting had been replaced with the agendas where others peddled their wares.

Every distraction is an opportunity to waste time that interferes with our relationship with family and with our God. In these times of instant entertainment it is only getting worse.