Removing the Buttons Part One - Salt and Light
(If you didn't read the intro to this strangely-titled post, please do so below.)
So as I have pondered the commands of Jesus, I kept feeling drawn to one particular Scripture: His Sermon on the Mount. It was early in Jesus' earthly ministry, and the words He said were startling to the people that heard it. It doesn't seem so crazy to us, but basically Jesus took some of the more well-known "buttons" of His day and up-ended them. Explained them. Made them into a heart issue instead of a list of dos and don'ts.
So let's look at what He taught in the Sermon on the Mount and see how it should look in the life of a 21st century young woman.
"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 by men.
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 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. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven," (Matthew 5:13-16, NIV).
You are salt. You are light.
Salt has several uses. It's used in cooking; you add it to other things (such as baking soda or powder) to make flours rise. It flavors almost every food you've ever had. (You've probably had salt on your watermelon. Unsalted crackers are completely disgusting. And if you don't use it in certain dishes like sweet potato casserole, they taste bland.) Also, you can use it to preserve foods. Ever had country ham? It hasn't been cooked; it's been "cured," which means it's been soaked in a salt solution, which somehow enables it to be saved for weeks and months without needing it to be refrigerated. In areas of the world where refrigeration is non-existent, meat is able to be saved only by curing it with salt.
You are salt.
So what does that mean?
We're meant to be used. We're meant to be a part of something where we'll be noticed. We're supposed to add flavor and even be the preserving factor in a group of friends or family.
And we're supposed to stay salty. Flavorful. Different. Odd. We're not meant to be like everyone else. And though others may not realize at first why we're different, Christ would want us to be salty so they would say, "I don't know what's different about her, but I want what she has." Salt.
We don't do things just to be weird; we just are weird because of our faith in Christ. We believe things we can't see. We love when we want to hate. We say no to things that seem so good because we know they're not good for us.
And light is listed right next to salt because it goes with it perfectly: others see us. Plainly. We stand out. We are unlike everything around us, which is darkness. Our weirdness is going to, at one time or another, be in the spotlight. Now this is where many Christians decide it's not worth it. Not fun. Not part of their plan. They didn't really want to be weird to start with, but they especially didn't want other people to point to their weirdness. They didn't want their weirdness to shine. They didn't want to be that girl.
But the Bible clearly says "You ARE salt....You ARE light."
Not, "You should be salt. You may choose to be light." You are. Inherently. Whether or not you were looking for an opportunity to be weird and known for your weirdness, you are.
And if you're going to follow the rest of Jesus' commands in the Sermon on the Mount, this is where you start. And when you do it, people praise God (verse 16).
Repeat after me: I am weird. People are going to know I'm weird. And that's how it's supposed to be.
So many girls just want to fit in. Just want to be part of a group.
But deep down, you know you are made for something more. You want to be weird, but you're a little scared.
So this is step one: accept your identity as salt and light. Give up your desire to be cool, to be popular, to be something you were never meant to be. You were meant to be God's. Not your own.
Remember where all this started: The greatest command is to love God. And to love God, and His Son Jesus, is to obey their commands. This is where we start.
I will be praying that you find yourself weird. And love it.
If you haven't subscribed yet, please do! Just put your email address in the box at the top right side.
So as I have pondered the commands of Jesus, I kept feeling drawn to one particular Scripture: His Sermon on the Mount. It was early in Jesus' earthly ministry, and the words He said were startling to the people that heard it. It doesn't seem so crazy to us, but basically Jesus took some of the more well-known "buttons" of His day and up-ended them. Explained them. Made them into a heart issue instead of a list of dos and don'ts.
So let's look at what He taught in the Sermon on the Mount and see how it should look in the life of a 21st century young woman.
"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 by men.
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 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. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven," (Matthew 5:13-16, NIV).
You are salt. You are light.
Salt has several uses. It's used in cooking; you add it to other things (such as baking soda or powder) to make flours rise. It flavors almost every food you've ever had. (You've probably had salt on your watermelon. Unsalted crackers are completely disgusting. And if you don't use it in certain dishes like sweet potato casserole, they taste bland.) Also, you can use it to preserve foods. Ever had country ham? It hasn't been cooked; it's been "cured," which means it's been soaked in a salt solution, which somehow enables it to be saved for weeks and months without needing it to be refrigerated. In areas of the world where refrigeration is non-existent, meat is able to be saved only by curing it with salt.
You are salt.
So what does that mean?
We're meant to be used. We're meant to be a part of something where we'll be noticed. We're supposed to add flavor and even be the preserving factor in a group of friends or family.
And we're supposed to stay salty. Flavorful. Different. Odd. We're not meant to be like everyone else. And though others may not realize at first why we're different, Christ would want us to be salty so they would say, "I don't know what's different about her, but I want what she has." Salt.
We don't do things just to be weird; we just are weird because of our faith in Christ. We believe things we can't see. We love when we want to hate. We say no to things that seem so good because we know they're not good for us.
And light is listed right next to salt because it goes with it perfectly: others see us. Plainly. We stand out. We are unlike everything around us, which is darkness. Our weirdness is going to, at one time or another, be in the spotlight. Now this is where many Christians decide it's not worth it. Not fun. Not part of their plan. They didn't really want to be weird to start with, but they especially didn't want other people to point to their weirdness. They didn't want their weirdness to shine. They didn't want to be that girl.
But the Bible clearly says "You ARE salt....You ARE light."
Not, "You should be salt. You may choose to be light." You are. Inherently. Whether or not you were looking for an opportunity to be weird and known for your weirdness, you are.
And if you're going to follow the rest of Jesus' commands in the Sermon on the Mount, this is where you start. And when you do it, people praise God (verse 16).
Repeat after me: I am weird. People are going to know I'm weird. And that's how it's supposed to be.
So many girls just want to fit in. Just want to be part of a group.
But deep down, you know you are made for something more. You want to be weird, but you're a little scared.
So this is step one: accept your identity as salt and light. Give up your desire to be cool, to be popular, to be something you were never meant to be. You were meant to be God's. Not your own.
Remember where all this started: The greatest command is to love God. And to love God, and His Son Jesus, is to obey their commands. This is where we start.
I will be praying that you find yourself weird. And love it.
If you haven't subscribed yet, please do! Just put your email address in the box at the top right side.
Comments
Post a Comment