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e are the salt of
the earth: But is the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted?
it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under
foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill
cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on
a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your
light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your
Father which is in heaven. (Matthew
5:13-16)
I
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am that bread
of life. Your fathers did eat manna in
the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from
heaven, that a man ma yeat thereof, and not die. I am
the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he
shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will
give for the life of the world. (John 6:48-51)
Salt
Is a compound composed of two deadly elements:
Sodium and Chlorine.
Sodium: yellowish, soft metal never found in its own form in
nature. Will be always joined to some other element such carbon, nitrogen,
hydrogen, or, even chlorine. If taken into the body, it is deadly poison to the
consumer.
Chlorine: a deadly, invisible gas. First agent to be used in chemical
warfare in WWI. Its presence cannot be discerned by smell or sight. If breathed
into the lungs, it kills instantly.
NaCL: Sodium Chloride – table salt. Either of these elements are
deadly taken alone, but combined in a chemical bond, they form a compound that
essential to life.
Salarius: Old Roman term for the salt
allotment given to soldiers. This is the origin of the word – salary.
Christ did not speak lightly when He
compared His people to the Salt of the Earth. He knew of the chemical agents of which He
spoke, for He created them all.
You see, we are the Sodium of this
chemical bond; God is the Chlorine.
Sodium, for if we remain apart from God,
we will join ourselves to some other element of the world. We will not be a
lifegiving source for the world. If we remain apart, we will die of our own
nature, because we are poison.
Chlorine, if it remains
alone, is likewise deadly to all into which it comes into contact. If we are
not joined to God as Sodium is to Chlorine, we shall all die because our
eternal lives depend upon our relationship to God.
Salt makes us thirsty. It
also attracts water. Salt seasons food and is used to kill germs. It has
healing properties. It is valuable. It is not commonly found in general, but
must be toiled after, searched out, and mined at great labor. It must be
delivered to the place of need.
We should not be common, if
we are the salt of the earth. We are valuable to Christ, and must be purchased
at a great price. This Christ did for us on the cross.
Salt, if left in a bag contacting
the soil, will slowly lose the electron bond it has joined the two elements
together and the Sodium will begin to join itself to other chemicals of the
soil. That is precisely what happens when the Christian becomes two much
associated with worldly concerns: fashion, indecent romance, revealing clothes,
too much cosmetics, drugs, alcohol – all these can and will change our
Christian natures into something that is not pleasing to God.
Thus the salt loses its
savour and is worthless.
Light
Light cannot be hidden. If
it is, it requires unusual effort to hide it. Light has no limit on its
distance. Even a candle on earth can be seen from the moon if it is not obscured
by surrounding lights of brighter force.
Light travels in a straight
line. It is honest and pure. Light possesses no material value. It is a mystery
to science. They can describe its behavior, but not its essential nature.
According to Einstein’s
Special & General Theory of Relativity, Light is the only constant in the Universe.
Its speed is constant and unchanging. It
is so much like God, being one of His special creations that the term Light is
used as a simile for God. God is Light!
And He is unchanging. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)
Darkness has no power in the
presence of Light, for darkness is merely the absence of light. Satan has no power in the presence of God. One
small candle will disperse a roomful of darkness. If our candle is strong, our
power over Satan will be strong.
The only impediment to Light
is Matter. Like the Moon, if we allow the Earth to come between us and the Son,
our Light will be eclipsed.
Like the Moon, we have no
light of our own. Our Light is a reflected Light from that great generator of
Light – the Son. Do we reflect the Light of the Son of Righteousness in our
Lives?
We need to keep our lamps
filled with oil (Holy Spirit) to dispel the darkness when it comes.
The Bread of
Heaven
Jesus is the Manna (Bread)
of Heaven. He is our sustenance. We feed on the Word of God. Christ is the Word
of God (John 1:1)
Our bodies must have
nourishment to live and be strong. The physical bread we eat provides that
health.
Our spirit must feed on the
Bread of Heaven (Jesus Christ – the Word of God) In the Word is all power and spiritual nourishment to keep our
souls safe in a wicked world.
None other bread has come
down from Heaven for our goodness and profit.
To be on safe and secure
ground as Christians, we must do three things:
·
Be as salt providing the essentials of life to a dying world. We
must look like salt, and act like salt.
·
Be a source of Light in darkness. The world is a wilderness of
darkness. Though our candles be few, we can be a haven of light in a dark
place.
·
Be sustained by the Bread of Heaven – Jesus Christ. He is the
Word, Alpha and Omega. He is the Bread of our Spiritual lives. Without that
daily bread, we shall all perish without hope or future.
Does your life shine with
those three spiritual natures that Christ has given us?
