Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – February 22, 2020
You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. Matthew 5:13-14
Though it took years to get there, I can now with honesty say that I am a morning person. In fact, it seems as though my days have slowly but surely been starting earlier and earlier. I love the calm and the quiet of the house before anyone else arises. And especially in the dead of winter, I love the darkness of the morning, the mysterious and magical way in which the dark slowly but surely gives way to the first glow of the morning sun.
As I sit in silent prayer and contemplation, meditating on Scripture and seeking the Lord in these first hours of the day, I’ve taken to lighting a simple candle. Whereas the lamps and overhead lights seem intrusive and overpowering, there’s something warm and intimate about candlelight. Though the home is utterly and completely dark, a single candle is able to cast its warmth upon everything in the room.
At the other end of the day, I am unspeakably blessed to have a wife who takes great joy in cooking world class homemade dinners almost every evening. I assure you, I don’t take this for granted! While she knows when to liberally apply salt, such as when roasting a buttermilk chicken, she also knows when to hold back. In our home, the winter months are “soup season,” and there are few things worse than over-salted soup! And yet, when done rightly, a single dash of salt can transform a bland bowl of soup into a masterpiece, accentuating and drawing out a whole host of complex flavors.
As I read Jesus’ words in Matthew 5, I think of these simple examples of salt and light. For most of my life, I took this passage to be a call to arms, setting out boldly and dramatically to share the love of Christ in every corner of the world, like salt that brings flavor and joy to tens of thousands and lights that shine from the hilltops like beacons in the night. And while this is certainly a noble and faithful mission that the Lord entrusts to some (the missionary journeys of St. Paul immediately come to mind), for many of us, if not most of us, the invitation to be salt and light is found in the holy ordinary, in the candlelight of the morning and the pinch of salt in the evening.
Mother Teresa once said, “God does not call us all to great things, but calls us to do small things with great love.” There are literally countless moments in your day in which you can be salt and light in this world. Though small and often unseen, these are the daily invitations the Lord places before us to join him in the restorative work of his kingdom, to be his hands and his feet, salt and light, doing small things with great love.
Prayer
Father, give us eyes to see the places you invite us to be salt and light in this world, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
How can you intentionally pursue humble and unseen acts of mercy and kindness as a way to be the hands and feet of Jesus?
Related Reading
John 8:12; Ephesians 5:8; Colossians 4:6
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The Lord places before us opportunities to join him in the restorative work of his kingdom, to be his hands and his feet, salt and light, doing small things with great love. #WisdomHunters #saltandlight #truth #Jesus
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