SONS OF GOD – Shine your Light, Be the Salt of the earth

 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matt 5:13-16

*All scriptures are from the NKJV unless otherwise specified

Introduction

I personally love the smell of sea salt. Every now and then I take walks along the seaside, enjoying the stroll at the edge of the water and the constant wind that smells of saltiness and aquatic life. I remember trying to learn swimming from my wife in the clear waters of the seashore a short while ago and ingesting a lot of salt water. It tasted so salty and hard that it was actually very bitter. I have not gone back again to swim. Please don’t ask me why. Anyway, this article is not really about swimming in the ocean of salt water, but about the reality of the sons of God as the salt and light of the world. Permit me to say clearly that when I mention sons of God, I am not necessarily talking about those that go to church and are involved in Christian activities. Anyone can go to Church and remain a stranger to God. Why?  Going to church is clearly not the requirement for being a son of God. Sons of God are only known by one thing, they are led by the Spirit of God through faith that comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Period! Any other thing anyone tells you is just make believe. So my words in this article are not aimed at church goers or those who think Christian activity is the way to the heart of the Father. I am only writing to those who are overcoming the desires of this world daily by their faith in the eternal workings of God in Christ and who no longer love their self, but have become one with the suffering of Christ.

I have often wondered why the Lord would compare His followers to salt and light and then why the scriptures in Revelation 17:15 refer to the sea that Babylon was seated upon, as nations, tribes and tongues? On the morning of writing this article, I had gone to walk on the sea shore, as I waded through the water I began to understand the connection between the reality of the sons of God as salt and light and then the reality of the sea as people nations and tongues. It was a really simple realization.

Salt for flavor

One of the attributes of salt is that, it gives flavor to food, cooking etc. But from the perspective of our reference scripture, this is talking about the flavor that the sons of God give to the world by their way of lifestyle of faith and the spread of the goodness of God. “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good” is the pattern of the sons of God as the salt of the earth. And the eternal goodness of God is measured by His mercy. And that’s why Psalm 135:1 puts it this way “Praise the Lord, for He is good: for His mercy endures forever”.

Sonship with God is about mercy finding a man who once was lost. It is the goodness of God manifested in the world. Meaning that a man, having found grace and mercy with God, now lives above the law of his flesh and by the new liberty of Spirit, he spreads the goodness and the fragrance of God in the world. Meaning that, where there is strife, he becomes the peacemaker; where there is sorrow, he becomes the minister of the joy of the Lord, binding up wounds, giving comfort to the broken-hearted, and where there is hatred, he becomes the love of God in Christ revealed, returning good for evil. The world tastes the flavor or the goodness of the Lord through the lives of His sons. They are the salt in the entire sea of nations, tribes, multitudes and tongues. But there remains a danger which each son of God who is the salt of the earth must watch out for: A tasteless, bitter salt in the midst of a flavorless world will be trodden under foot.

Do not lose your savor

There is the likelihood of one who is salt of the earth losing his flavor if he moves from walking by the Spirit through faith to walking by the law of the flesh that works through fleshly desires. It simply means that to lose the flavor of salt is to lose the God character (fruit of the Spirit or love) that is found in being led by the Spirit through faith. Somehow the institutional church has become worldly and the world has become churchly, creating a very ungodly load of works and charades masked in good works.  And mind you, it is possible to do good works that look like salt to the world while not walking by the Spirit. For even the Apostle Paul spoke about the unprofitable acts of good works without love in 1 Corinthians 13. The opposite of walking by the leading of the Spirit is to walk according to the law of flesh, which is controlled by self. From what I see around the world, and especially the hype of luxury in the church, clearly, “lots of salts of the earth” are losing their flavor and like Jesus warned “but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”  The question is this, is the falling away from the church, the rottenness of the society (when there is no salt to preserve the meat) and the mostly non-effectiveness of the activities of the institution church in the world a type of flavorless salt being trodden under feet? You think about it.

Salt as a preserver

“If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.” Mat 24:22

The Sons of God are salt of the earth, and we know that salt apart from giving flavor to food, also preserves meat from rottenness in the case where there is no refrigerator. I am beginning to think that the reason why the Lord has not done away with this world yet even in its gravest evil, is because He is preserving it because of His sons; just the same way He will cut short the days of tribulation for the sake of His sons or elect, as the above scripture rightly says. For according to the story of Lot and the destruction of Sodom, God could not preserve that city because He just could not get ten true sons of God who are salt or preservers for Him in Sodom. That makes me question the loyalty of Lot and his family to God. For if God needed just ten righteous salt carriers to spare Sodom and He didn’t find Lot and his family worthy of such status, then we who call ourselves Christians in this day must be careful to check if we are truly salt in this world. For we must remember the words of the Lord when He said that the days of the Son of man will be like the days of Lot. (Please think about this critically) That brings me to another thing, of all the things she could have become, why did the wife of Lot turn to a pillar of salt when she turned back to look at the city of Sodom? What is the significance of that? Could it be God’s way of saying the city of Sodom would have been saved if He God had sons who were salt within it? I leave you with that thought. (If you have an interpretation of why Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt in particular, please leave a comment below.)

Light as Knowledge and Understanding

Darkness is not necessarily the absence of light; it is the presence of light, but light that is reduced to its barest form. And that’s why just a match stick can light up a completely dark room. The sons of God are God’s lights in this world and no man lights up a candle and puts it under a basket, but puts it on a lamp stand where it shines and gives light to all. The knowledge or the word of God in a man’s heart is light to him. That’s why Psalms 119:105 says “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” The world we live in right now has been subjected to massive darkness and for which only the sons of God can give light according to their various and unique ordination in God to do so. Certainly the whole world is in a to and fro loop, increasing in the knowledge of this world, but decreasing in the knowledge and the light of God. The only hope for them is the sons of God who are bearers of true light and knowledge.

Are you adding to the darkness in the world?

The Lord gave a very strong statement in Mat 6:22-23: He says, “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (KJV)

I believe many interpret there verses of scripture in relation to the prophetic ministry of the church as the eye or light giver of the body of Christ, which it is, but within the context of this article, I believe it also points to the world as a body that lacks light because the light bearers are not giving their lights. A closer look at the end of verse 23, we see something that should make light bearers think. It says “if therefore the light that is in thee is darkness, how great is that darkness?” How is it even possible for the light in a man to be darkness? Well, it is very possible. It appears that when a man has allowed darkness take hold of him and having mastered how to sit in that darkness and thrive in it, darkness takes the form of light for him. He operates in that darkness thinking it is light. How great really is darkness when it has become light to a man?

Express who you are

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see…

God is still in the business of putting His lights on lampstands to give light to the world. The question however is this, how many are allowing Him use them as lights? Light is sight, for the light of the body is the eye. Light is understanding, it is the revelation of truth. Light is knowledge and to know God is eternal life. Light is the direction that comes from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The world is in a fix right now. The entire governments of the nations are confused about how to go forward. They simply don’t have solutions for the issues facing their nations anymore and their people are suffering untold hardship as a result. They have mostly turned to bullies, dictators who intimidate their people just to cover up how much they have failed as government. This season in the world has become the most important for the sons of God who have been given the Holy Spirit to help the nations navigate the darkness of the times. For as darkness covers the earth and as tastelessness spreads all over, the sons of God are commanded to rise and shine in order to bring truth and fresh taste to the world.

In conclusion

This is your time sons of God. Let your light so shine that men will see God in you and by that, thanksgiving will be multiplied unto God. Do not be intimidated by the things you see around you or the circumstances that may beguile you. Right in you is the light of the world that the nations need at this critical time of darkness.

So let loose and let God arise upon you, even as you shine your light and give the nations your sweet savor.

Blessings always. From your brother.