We Are The Salt; We Are The Light
By Cornell Ngare
Jesus: “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:5
Christ commands His saints to be salty. Be able to change the taste of anything and anywhere you are placed in. What do you need to add a salty flavor to a meal? You take a packet of maize flour and sprinkle a little over your plate, right? Wrong. You take a box of baking powder and sprinkle a pinch on your food, right? Wrong again. You may look like salt, weigh like salt, smell like salt, but if you don’t taste like salt, then nobody will care to use you. God won’t. It’s the taste that makes the difference. Jesus commands that we are to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth (Matt 5:13-16). And when the salt loses its saltiness, it is thrown away. That means that if you have Christ in your heart and you are not dead, then you are still salty. The food doesn’t add flavor to the salt; it’s the reverse that works. To be the salt of the earth means to be the flavor of the world. Flavor may not mean favorite, but it does mean favored.
The man had never seen light in his life. He had heard of the sun, burnt his fingers in a fire, listened to stories about stars and used words such as “day” and “night” in his vocabulary. But he had never experienced this light that he talked, sung and heard so much about. He had never seen it because he was born blind. Did he miss the light? Maybe. Did he long for light? Perhaps. But could he describe light? No. For to describe light would mean to know light and see light; both of which he never did.
The story in John 9 has Christ’s disciples blaming the blind man’s pedigree for his condition and Jesus glorifying God in the same condition. But the sequence of events leading to the miracle in this story bears no resemblance to the speak-and-go healing recorded in Mark 2:11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” No, this healing was a process; a slow process; a dirty process. It was a process that required a patient kind of faith, an obedient faith. First, Jesus spat on the ground. Secondly, he made some mud with the saliva, and Thirdly, he put the mud on the man’s eyes, sealing the process with a command, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (John 9:6-7). Then the man went, did as he was commanded and came back seeing.
Why is this story so intriguing to me? Because this story is my story, and I believe that it is also your story and the story of many more people that are still criss-crossing the face of the earth, born blind and drowning in despair. If you don’t get how this is your story, I suggest you pick up your bible, open up John 9 and I will show you something you had never seen before. Read carefully John 9 verse 1 “As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.” Did you see it? No? Read the verse again. Pardon my redundancy, but this is important. You need to get this or else this message won’t make much sense to you. Have you re-read it? Now do you see it? Ok, it’ normal to be slow, I was too until Jesus pointed it out to me. Let me just point it out to you. Jesus “saw” the man. The man did not see Jesus. He did not call out to Jesus. For all we, know, Jesus would have passed by and the man would have never known about him. This point is pivotal. It is the point of our Christian lifestyles.
You’ve heard of the saying that “the world doesn’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” This is a perfect example of that, and it is the very essence of being the salt of the world. The world will not run after you to tell them about Jesus. The world will not stop you to ask about Christ. The world will not spend sleepless nights disturbed by its sinfulness. The world is born sinful (Rom 3:23) and will not seek for righteousness. It will not, until you create the need in the world. It will not until you step in and become the salt. Live such an exceptional life that the world will wonder where you came from. Be so honest until the world wonders where you get your truth. Be so patient until the world wonders who waited so long for you. Be so kind until the world starts to inquire whose kind you are.
Do not be discouraged when you falter. Exceptional lives are not exempt from sin. You will get dirty. You will get muddy. Your reputation will be tainted. Your bank account will be threatened. But your light will shine throughout all eternity. Be the salt of the earth. The state of your heart is the taste of your heart.
Lives will be transformed. Minds will be freed. Hearts will be changed, and when people start to wonder;
“How then were your eyes opened?” they demanded.
He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.” (John 9:17)
Has Jesus made a change in your life that’s worth raising eyebrows?
Has Jesus changed your appearance; are you a light?
Has Jesus changed your taste; are you the salt?
