YOU are the salt of the earth

"YOU are the salt of the earth." Matthew 5:13a


It was Jesus’ first “official” sermon that we now call the “sermon on the mount.” It was a time when Jesus was ushering in a new era in religion. “Thou shalt not murder” became “don’t be angry with your brother” and “thou shalt not commit adultery” became “don’t look lustfully on a woman.” It was a time when the change that would come, would come from the people who’d been changed – people whose attitudes would be different -- who'd have the BE-attitudes rather than the DO-attitudes of the Jews.


If you will BE poor in spirit the kingdom of heaven will be yours and you will BE blessed.
If you will BE sorrowful you will be comforted and you will BE blessed.
If you will BE meek you will inherit the earth and you will BE blessed.
If you will BE seekers of righteousness, you will BE filled and you will BE blessed. ….


The army has a slogan that says, “Be all that you can be” because the people who came up with that slogan know the power of being a soldier; if a soldier will be all that he can be, the world will be a better place and he will be a better soldier.


Who were the people on the mountainside, Jesus was talking to? Scripture tells us he began to teach his disciples. We Christians -- we followers of Christ -- are the ones Jesus was talking to. Jesus knew that the world could and would only be changed by the people who were already THE SALT OF THE EARTH.


In the past, when I have considered what “You are the salt of the earth” means, I have emphasized the word “salt” enumerating its many uses rather than emphasizing the words "You are" which denote BEING the salt. I have been convicted, since studying this passage over the last few days, that there is a big difference between knowing the characteristics of salt and that I AM the salt. If I do not realize I AM, then how will the world ever be transformed -- nurtured, seasoned, preserved, disinfected, buried, melted away to become the world God wants it to be, through me. Only when I AM the salt, will the world be changed.