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. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 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. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. — Matthew 5:16-16, English Standard Version
My grandmother was a precious woman. She worked nights as a nurse then took care of her husband, three daughters, and son in a ramshackle two-story home in central Arkansas. Money was scarce, so she sewed clothing for her daughters. Her favorite creative outlet was crochet. Dorothy imagined various patterns then put needle and thread to creating those designs.
As she aged, her eyes grew hazy with cataracts. In her seventies, Dorothy finally had her cataracts removed. She exclaimed, “the colors are so beautiful!” Dorothy could see the colors in the afghans she had worked on for years through her dimly-glazed eyes.
Like Dorothy’s cataracts, sin blinds the unbeliever to the hope and joy found in Jesus. We are groping in the dark until someone shares the gospel with us. When we truly realize our need and call on our Savior he removes the scales from our eyes.
The Gospel is Good News
Sometimes we forget the gospel is good news to desperate people burdened by the guilt of their sin. Jesus encountered self-righteous religious leaders, self-sufficient professionals, and self-absorbed heathens who were too proud to humble themselves and truly hear the gospel. Then there were the broken, discarded, repentant, and humble who understood the message the rabbai brought was liberating!
The Gospel is Challenging
The gospel is challenging to people entangled in sin. Our sin becomes so familiar to us we identify with it and others entangled in it. We worship the thing that is choking life from us. We lash out at the gospel-bearers who promise liberation. The gospel demands we confess our sin and leave that life behind. It is sometimes too good to believe. The cost seems so high when all we know is the sin that is killing us.
The Gospel is Our Calling
Once we are saved from sin, sharing the gospel is our calling. We are not to be like salt that sits until it loses its flavor or a light hidden under a basket. All too often we forget the freedom we have found in the gospel and settle into our own comfortable routines. We fear rejection from our neighbors if we share the gospel. We fear retribution if we offend someone.
We are to “let [our] light shine before others”: not for our glory, not for our success, but for the glory of God. When we live a life that brings God glory He will draw them to you. He will use you to change others’ lives. His kingdom will grow. So live out he gospel knowing the rich rewards for those who turn to God.