Parable of Salt and Light

When faith shows up. Parable of salt and light. Now, Thursday

this week is career and calling Career fair on campus. And

I hope you got your resume ready. And there are going to be

a lot of companies here, a lot of organizations here. Great time

to start planting seed to get the right job. And I hope you got

a good resume. You know, I look at an awful lot of resumes.

I look at hundreds of them through the years. And a good resume

can make a huge difference in how it's formatted. So get help in

our Career and Crawling center if you haven't done that. But you've

got amazing qualifications and gifts. I've been thrilled what our

alumni have done through the years. You're going to be the same.

I hope somebody in here is going to go into higher education

administration. I can't do this job forever. And one of you

got to come take my place one day so somebody get called into higher

ed. But wherever God's calling you, your most important resume is

not the one you're going to have in your hand on Thursday Accruing

calling day. The most important resume comes from the Sermon

on the Mount. It's the standard that Jesus gave us of success.

And he described it in what's known as the Beatitudes. Now, a couple

years ago, I did a whole series of chapels through the whole

semester on the Beatitudes. If you were here, some of you might

remember the Ladder. Do you remember the Ladder? You remember

Baby Peach showing up? That was fun. But I can't do that whole

thing. But I'm going to give you a quick summary of it. But the

Beatitudes are really God's summary of his evaluation of our

value and worth in the world. It starts with blessed are blessed

are means to be approved. This you are approved of God. Blessed

doesn't mean your life is going to be all happy and perfect

and everything's going to line up and God's going to give you lots

of good stuff. It means your life is aligned to God's calling

and purpose. You know, one of the things I love about the south

is a lot of times people just say, have a blessed day. Go to the

grocery store, have a blessed day. Go to the bank, have a blessed

day. And that's nice. And I know what they mean. Might good things

happen to you. But what if every time we heard that, that was

a good checkpoint to say, am I aligned with God's purpose? Because

that's really what being blessed means. So have a blessed

day means, is this day aligned with God's? Purpose. And in the Beatitudes,

where he said, blessed are those who are, and he gives us eight

standards of success. I just want to give them to you quickly.

And these are the paraphrase, because we don't have a whole series

of chapels to do on this. But blessed are those who are dependent

on God, and blessed are those who are broken by the cost of sin

and confident without ego driving them and hungry for what's

right. Blessed are those who are merciful when others are not.

Blessed are those who are guided by integrity. Blessed or aligned

with God are those who are peacemakers, not agitators. And blessed

are those who are faithful even when it costs. Jesus said, this

is the purpose of our calling. This is our job. These are the people

who are really successful, not the ones in a corner office getting

a big salary. This is the standard of success. And then Jesus

goes on to say, but just doing this being this is not alone. If

you don't do something with it, you've got to be engaged in the

world. So right after he gives these eight Beatitudes, he says this

on the Sermon on the Mount, he said, you are the salt of the earth,

but what good is salt if it's lost its flavor? Can you make it

salty again? It'll be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.

Then he goes on, you're also the light of the world. Like a city

on a hilltop cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts

it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand where it

gives light to everyone in the house. You see, our calling goes

way beyond our career. Our career may be a framework or an access

point to the world, but our purpose and our calling is much more

significant than that. And. And that is to be the salt of the

earth and to be the light of the world. Now, these are two different

images, but Jesus gives them together because they're really,

in many ways the same thing. Jesus gives also warnings with both

of these. And I just love the complexity of the metaphors Jesus

uses. Now, when he said to people, you're the salt of the earth,

they had all kinds of understanding of exactly what that

meant. We don't, because salt doesn't mean that to us now. And

he said, you're the light of the world, they had all kinds of

understanding. Jesus could use these simple images and just project

such truth into their lives. So he said, you're not only these

things, but there's also a warning about being both of those

things or not showing up to be those things. He says, you're the

salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it's lost its flavor?

You're the light of the world. A city set on a hilltop cannot be

hidden, but no one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket.

You see, salt was very valuable, very valuable. In that

time. Salt was used like money. Often Roman soldiers were

often paid by with salt, not with coin, because you could trade.

Because salt was so valuable, you could trade it for other kinds

of things. And salt, Jesus says that's no longer distinct, goes

from being extremely valuable to worthless, absolutely worthless.

Throw it away. He's talking here about the danger of assimilation.

Faith that blends in so completely with the world, it no

longer flavors anything, no longer makes a difference. Where

it's sprinkled is worthless, absolutely worthless. That's a pretty

heavy mandate for what Jesus is calling us to do. And then he

says, the light of the world is designed to be seen, not so you

can see, but so everybody in the house can see. You see, faith

that retreats into privacy, maybe to avoid it being costly, maybe

to avoid paying attention, is worthless. Each fails the salt and

the light in different ways, but the same outcome. Both result

in a loss of influence and missing the purpose of why God made

us and why God builds us up in these eight beatitudes, not just

for our own sake, but so we can be salt and light to the world.

You see Jesus warning here in the Sermon on the Mount about faith

without impact, about belief without perseverance, about conviction

without visibility, not because the world needs louder Christians.

That's kind of the last thing they need is louder Christians. They

need faithful Christians who will actually show up and make a

difference in the environment they touch. Jesus links salt and

light because both exist for the sake of other people. They don't

exist for themselves. They exist for the sake of other people.

They're only valuable when they're given away. They have absolutely

no value if they're not given to others. There are three characteristics

interesting about salt and light that they have in common. Verse

is both are defined by function, not by appearance. You

know, salt is valuable for what it does. Light is valuable because

of what it reveals. And Jesus is teaching that discipleship is

not primarily how faith looks, but how it functions in the world.

What's the outcome? How does it actually operate in the world

that you touch? That's why, again, I like he used salt and light

metaphors because they're so bringing faith to the real world.

Now, your expression of faith can look very different from mine.

In fact, I hope it does, because if it does, you'll reach

into places that I can't reach. And they can look very different

as long as the outcome is to flavor the world and to light the

path for others. I think there are some people who think, well,

I can't really be that kind of a Christian because I can't be like

them, or I can't be like them, or I can't be like them. You don't

have to be like anybody else. The standards are the Beatitudes.

The outcome is how you flavor the world, how you light the path.

But faith that does nothing, Jesus is really clear is absolutely

worthless. Throw out the salt. It's no good. Who hides a light under

a basket? He says both salt and light are defined by function,

not appearance. Second thing that we will see about them is, here

we go. Both must engage their environment to matter. Salt has to

be mixed in. Light has to be exposed. You see, isolation neutralizes

both. And there are some people who live their Christian life

so fearful of the world that they isolate. And in doing so, you're

missing God's calling and purpose. Are you fearful your faith

can't stand up to temptation? If you get out in the world, yeah,

you're going to get tempted. That is going to happen. Are you

worried that your faith can't stand up to questioning? If you get

out in the world, yes, you're going to get questioned. Faith can't

stand up to ridicule because you're different. Yes, you're going

to get ridiculed. Jesus even talked about that straight up. But

there's no purpose of our faith unless we're mixing it into

the world. And Jesus is absolutely clear about this. We've

got to be part of the world. Unused salt is absolutely pointless.

And a light that's hidden contradicts its design. God designed

you as a light to show the path for others. And if you hide

that light, you're going completely against God's design for

your life. This warning he gives is really sharp. Faith that

remains private or inactive is a failure of our calling. It's a

missing of our purpose. You may say, well, you know, I just want

to be a really devout Christian and not push my faith on

anybody. And yeah, don't go preach in our faiths. We don't need

any of that. You know, don't point out their faults. That's not

your job. It's obnoxious. But isolated. Faith is useless in God's

standard of success. So, yes, you want to build up your life so

it's strong enough to interact with the world, but then you've finally

got to go. Both must engage their environment to be of any matter.

And then we see the third characteristic they have in common

is both transformation without drawing attention to themselves.

Salt changes the flavor of things substantially. But after a

great meal, you don't push back the plate and go, man, I love

that salt. That was really good. No, you didn't even mention

the salt. The salt's what gave it all flavor, but it wasn't the

focus. You see, it transforms the meal without being the focus.

Light reveals simply by being present. People don't look at the

light. They look at the path. I'm looking at these bright lights

up here. They're driving me nuts. Every time I get up here, you

don't see those lights. You see what it lights up. The focus

is on the function, not on the salt or the light. Jesus is describing

a life of influence, not trying to control. Describing a life

of service, not ego. Probably one of my most important mentors

in my life. He has a Leighton Ford, and Leighton has a. He's 92

now. I think Leighton has a theme for his life and ministry.

He says, I want to be a friend on the journey. A friend on the journey.

That's salt and light. I want to be a friend on your journey of

faith. I want to be a friend wherever your journey is. That's

salt and light. It transforms without drawing attention to itself.

Salt really forgotten after the meal's over. Light's pretty much

unnoticed. Once everybody sees clearly, you see the end goal is

the same. To glorify your Father in heaven, the scripture says.

And so the question Jesus is asking us to evaluate your resume

or standard of success that he's giving. I think they come down

to three questions as I study salt and light. So let me give them

to you. First, is this. Do you give off enough light to create contrast?

Do you change the flavor enough to be of value? See, light

only matters in darkness. If it's light outside and you turn another

light on, it doesn't really make any difference, does it? But

when it's dark, it makes all the difference in the world. Salt

only matters if it's present, but if it's absent, it makes all

the difference in the world. Sunday was Super Bowl 60. I hope

some of you watched it. Good game. If you like defensive football.

I watched my first super bowl when I was 15 years old. It was a

year after the jets beat the Colts, which nobody thought could

ever happen because the Colts had the famous number one quarterback

ever, Johnny Unitis. And the jets had this upstart quarterback

from Alabama named Joe Namath, who promised the week before the

game, we will win. The thing was, there were two separate football

leagues at that time. They weren't the NFL, they were two separate

leagues. And the jets were in what was considered the inferior

league. The Colts were the big league, and the jets won. Well, after

that, the super bowl became famous. So I counted it up during

the game and I've watched 56 Super Bowls. That's a lot of Super

Bowls. But I have kind of a tradition of Super Bowl. I like to

get something special to eat. And last few years it's been chips

and salsa. I don't know why, maybe because I've tried to watch

what I eat and I just don't go crazy with a big bag of corn chips

very often. But at super bowl you can do whatever you want. So

game was ready to start. I'd run into Whole Foods real quick.

I saw the restaurant style chips like you get at a really good

Mexican restaurant. I thought, that's exactly what I want. Grabbed

it, checked it out. It's the only thing I bought. Took it home

day before the game, game's ready to start, kickoff's ready to

start. I got my chips there, I got my salsa, Diet Coke, I'm ready

to go. I open the bag, taste the first one. I spit it out, and

I looked at the bag and it said, no salt. Heartbroken. My super

bowl was ruined. Why watch the game of that? It's terrible. No salt.

They tasted terrible. Who would eat that? Oh, boy. When you

put salt on the exact same chip, they're fabulous. You see,

faith that doesn't show up is really harmful. Faith that doesn't

show up tastes terrible to people around you. Faith that doesn't

show up leaves others in the dark. Faith that doesn't show up

stops influencing. Do you give off enough light to create contrast?

Do you change the flavor enough to be evaluated? Good evaluation

questions when it comes to the standard of success Jesus has. Second

questions. Do you help others to see the right path? And does your

addition preserve or decay? If you're going to shine a light for

people, don't shine it in their eyes. There are a lot of Christians

who do that. I'm going to point out your sins to you. I'm going

to shine this light straight in your eyes. No. First of all, it's

obnoxious. Second of all, it's not biblical. And third, conviction

is the job of the Holy Spirit. Don't take the Holy Spirit's job

from them. It's not your job. Your job is to light the path. Light

the path. Don't shine the light in their eyes. It's not an

examination of a prisoner of war thing. The light is to illuminate

the way for people not to try to expose them. Salt preserves what

otherwise would decay. See, in those days, they didn't have refrigeration.

There were no refrigerators. There was no air conditioning, which

we had a little bit more, but there was none of that. So what did

they use to make things last? They used salt. Salt preserved it,

slowed corruption, didn't preserve it forever, but it slowed

the corruption. Being salt means resisting to the moral drift

of the world around us. Not loudly, just consistently, not in

a way that brings attention to you, but just builds things up. Integrity

when cutting corners would be easy. Honesty when nobody else is

checking. Faithfulness in the small, unseen decisions. Both cost

something to be salt and light cost something. Light shining out

others for their needs means you've got to be plugged into the

source of the light. Or you got to keep your batteries recharged,

or you won't be able to provide the light because the light

will go out. Salt dissolves to do its best work. Being salt often

means it's an inconvenience. It means creating a misunderstanding.

At times, it means quiet sacrifice. But Jesus said, you are

the salt of the earth. Well, you know, I think so often as you

look at people and you look in this image of salt, which either

preserves or decays, People really fall into two categories.

Are you a preserver? Are you to care? Do you protect and strengthen

the places where you interact in your life, or do you make things

deteriorate? Salt preserves, but it costs faith. That never costs

us anything. Is probably not lighting much, and it's not preserving

very much. Well, the third set of questions. Do you light up where

you are now, and does your faith mix in where you are now? You

may look at those questions and go, no, not really. But when

I get out of here, when I graduate, I'm going to really make

a difference. That's not what scripture says. Scripture says you

are the light of the world. You are the salt of the earth. You

are you. Each one of us, not all y', all, but you, each one of

us are called into this responsibility. He says, you are.

That's not future tense. That's present tense. You are the

light of the world. Our is now, not just someday. And he Illustrates

that by saying, you are a city set on a hill. What does that mean,

a city can't move? A city's light is where it is, and it's got

a light there. You can't just say, I don't want to wait until I

light someplace else. No, you got a light right there. That's our

responsibility. There's a light wherever we are. Salt is to

be a preserver and a flavor adder right where we are. A lump

of salt alone is horrible. I think the worst thing, if I have

a sore throat or something. I just hate it when the doctor says,

you got to gargle with salt water. Like, no, anything but that.

Please, give me a pill, give me a shot, but don't make me gargle

with salt water. I hate the taste of that. It's too much salt.

And too much salt by itself does nothing. It's got to be mixed

in. Followers of Jesus are called to be a faithful presence,

blending in and making a difference. In classes and residence

halls, on teams at your work, bringing influence, influence that's

built on your faith. Christian influence happens by purposeful connection.

Purposeful connection. You have to look for places to have influence

and to serve. I want to tell you a story. I told it a couple years

in chapel. So if you've been around here a while, you've heard

this one before. But it was so impactful in my life. I not only

told it in chapel, I've told it to all the faculty and staff.

I wrote it in a book that I published because it was such a significant

moment for me. I was at Kroger. Now in my house, I've always

done the grocery shopping ever since we got married. So much work

to put it all away and make the list and all that stuff. So Mary

Lou does all that stuff. She's terrific at it. But I go get it.

And one day I was at the grocery store, and my daughter Madison

went with me. And it was busy. Like, super busy. And so we got in

the line, waited, waited, waited, waited. Got up to the front,

and something was messed up in the cart. I kind of forget what it

was now. But they didn't charge me the right thing. And I

was really frustrated, really frustrated. And I kind of said more

than I should have to the checkout person. And I could tell

she wasn't happy, she wasn't crying. It wasn't good. And we kind

of made it through. And we're going out to the car and we're putting

stuff in the car. Madison says, dad, I love you, but you just

look past the people in the aprons. You don't even respond to

the people in the aprons. They're working hard. They're just

trying to make it, dad, you've got to be nicer to the people in

the aprons. And I had horror in my heart at that moment because

I had never even noticed the aprons, the people who serve in those

places, they all have aprons. I made a commitment in that moment.

I'm looking for people in aprons, and when I do, I'm going

to brighten their life. I'm going to encourage them, I'm going

to talk to them, I'm going to ask them how they're doing, not just

how their job's doing. And I've had some, through the subsequent

time, had some of the most pleasant interactions in line at

Kroger, because I'm purposely looking for people in aprons to share

just a little bit of joy, a little bit of love, and to build

up their life, not tear it down. Wherever God has you, you're

to be salt and light. Because wherever God has you right now is

where you need it the most, even if it's in the checkout line

at Kroger. You see, this was the bottom line of success for Jesus.

He said, you're the salt of the earth. You're the light of the

world. Be salt that changes the taste of everything. Be light

so others can see their path. Not that they're going to be impressed

with you, because Jesus makes this very clear. Because look at

how this passage ends. In the same way, let your good deeds shine

out for all to see so that everyone will praise your Heavenly

Father. The purpose of being salt and light is not to bring attention

to you and say, oh, isn't he so nice? Isn't he really wonderful?

No, it's to honor God by your good deeds. May God be lifted up

so that people will experience the love of Jesus in small ways or

in big ways wherever you interact. And when you do, you will

be shocked at how God uses you. Well, I hope on Thursday you

have a great career fair. But this is successful by heavenly standards.

And when you achieve at this level, you will be amazed at what

God will do. Because the truth of our benediction verse we're going

to say together is so real. If you will be salt and light, no eye

is seen, no ear is heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared

for those who love him. God bless. Have a good day. Get outside

where it's a little cooler than here.