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Read: Matthew 5:13-16
Listen: Matthew 5

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16

Jesus is a brilliant teacher. He takes difficult ideas and boils them down into simple, profound truths. Here, Jesus gives two tangible examples of how those who cultivate a kingdom heart will impact the world. He says they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Salt and light were essential elements in a world without electricity and refrigeration. Salt was necessary for flavoring and preserving food from rot. Jesus calls his followers to flavor and preserve the world from moral decay. In first-century Israel, there weren’t streetlights to light the way or provide safety in the dark. Jesus says his followers should give light to the world around them. His followers’ actions are to reveal who God is and the way to him. The world should think God is amazing by seeing how Jesus’s followers live.

Jesus calls us to be salt and light in our world today. Jesus’s plan for the world to know him is through his church. As we share our faith in Jesus and live differently from the culture, we will draw a skeptical world to Jesus. When the world interacts with us, they should end up glorifying God because of how we live. That’s a powerful statement and a strong challenge.

TODAY: Ask God to help you be salt and light in your spheres of influence. Open your journal and begin a list of ways you could be salt and light to those around you this holiday season. Thanksgiving and Christmas offer unique opportunities to let those closest to us “see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT:

Read Nehemiah 11. Highlight anything that points to Jesus.