LIGHT OF THE WORLD, SALT OF THE EARTHGod admonished us to become the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Why? Because there's so much darkness in this world that people are groping for the true light that will illuminate their perilous paths through life. Man's life has been so drab and tasteless that God needs people to become the salt of the earth to give flavor to an otherwise tasteless existence of mankind. Man has lost his true perspective in life. Man has associated himself with worldly pursuits in life where everybody else wants to get ahead and to be on top at the expense of others. It does not matter whether he steps on the lives of so many people just so he can reach the summit of success, fame and fortune. But once he reaches the top, man realizes that it is so lonely up there, bereft of the true happiness and contentment in life.
Yes, God needs more people to become a light of the world and a salt of the earth. Would you rather be included in the Guinness Book of World Records or in God's Book of Life? Think about it, my friend.
Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla
Philippines
Spiritual/Inspirational
29 comments:
I agree...fame/fortune/sex/drugs etc dun bring happiness. At the same time, it's hard for many ppl to believe in a God when so many horrible things happen to innocent ppl. Where was God then?
Keshi.
Of course I choose the second, be in God's Book of Life. I'm just happy being what I'm being.
I really got your idea to be the light of the world, but earth's salt???
Salt can be delicious, but eating too much salt would be harmful, you know what? I cook my food with no salt, I like unsalted food, and no matter if it needs salt.
Well, never mind, since I found Gusthav (or Gusthav found me) I've been happy and less lonely tha before, then I found blogger, and the I found you.
Thanks Mel, thanks a lot for everything.
Big greetings and big hugs.
Sweet Dreams, from the bottom of my Heart:
Arthur
I also choose to be in God's Book of life.
I really don't care if I'm a little bit fat, if I'm not blond with blue eyes.
Since I found Arthur, he tought me to love myself (but without being arrogant), and we are the best friends forever, and then, he made me enter to the blogosphere, and I thank him 'cause I knew other bloggers, and I found you Mel.
Thanks for being here, for your comments, and for everything.
And I don't have any problem with the salt, I liked salt in my food.
Greetings and Hugs
Nice Day, with my whole soul:
gusthav
Excellent post Mel and so very true!
Arthur...the reason we are called to be the salt of the earth for God is because salt makes us thirsty and so we are to live our lives as Christians in such a way so as to cause other people who see us, to thirst for God and his word.
Mel...this is SeaSpray...I forgot to sign out of my other blog. :)
Hi Keshi,
Thanks for your visit and for your comments. Bad things happen to people because they don't know what they are doing to their lives. Evil is the absence of goodness as darkness is the absence of light. We see the evil, suffering and pains in this world not because God caused it but because of the absence of true goodness in the hearts of people. What we see in this world is the manifestation of the depravity of man because his spirit is dead. Once his spirit becomes alive through the born again experience whereby the Holy Spirit endows man with spiritual life, then we see the apparent goodness and kingdom of God in our hearts. Thanks for your visit and wonderful comments. God bless you and your family always.
Hi Arthur,
You make me laugh my young friend. When Jesus used the example of salt in referring to people, it was during the Roman times when salt was so valuable to people. Without salt then, food would have been so tasteless that nobody would have eaten them. Salt was so valuable during those times that it was used as part of the salaries of people. Salt was also used as a tender for the exchange of goods just like money. Of course we don't use so much salt now because there are so many substitutes for salt. But the salty taste can never be excluded from our dishes. Thanks for your visit and your comments. God bless you and your family always.
Hi Gusthav,
You and Arthur are very funny but I really like you both my young friends. So salt is alright with you. Too much salt is also bad because if can raise our blood pressure and can cause kidney damage. We have to use just the right amount of salt for our food. Iodized salt is better for it can help avoid goiter. Yes, it is better to be included in the Book of Life, for those whose names are not written there will be consigned to the Lake of Fire. Thanks for your visit and your comments. God bless you and your family always.
Hi Snowlite (also Seaspray),
Thanks for your visit and your informative comments. Yes, we should thirst for the presence of God in our lives just as salt makes us very thirsty for the "water of life." Thanks again. God bless you and your family always.
good post ;-)
HI MEL
Chicken soup for the soul,good posting as usual.
I take the good lessons from all faith and this is one of them.
How true it is, that sometimes we are surrounded by many people,fame, success and power, and yet still feeling empty and lonely on the other hand those who seek guidance and follow The Al-Mighty never feel alone.
Have a pleasant day and God bless you and family always.
I want to be in God's book of Life!
God Bless you for spreading his word..
Hi Kawana,
Thanks for visiting my blog and for your comments. God bless you and your family always.
Hi Noushy,
Thanks for your visit and your inspiring comments. Yes indeed, accumulation of all the material things in this world will never assure us of true happiness in life. Sometimes they even become a heavy burden on us. Thanks again for your visit. God bless you and your loved ones always.
Hi Mississippi Songbird,
Yes indeed. It is so wonderful to be included in God's Book of Life. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you and your family always.
hi Mel, i remember some years ago when i was on a job, asking God what He wanted me to do there. i know i had my job-related duties, but i'm always aware of being a servant to Kingdom work, so i was wondering what exactly God wanted me to do.
He said, "what does a light do when you turn on the switch?" i said, "nothing, it just comes on." "right," God said, "it just lights up the darkness and makes no announcement saying, i'm on. it just shines brightly. that's what i want you to do," said God, "just be a light and shine brightly."
good post!
Hi Heiresschild,
Yes, we must serve us light of the world and salt of the earth. The whole world is enveloped in darkness. Only the true light of our Lord Jesus Christ as reflected in His true followers can ever dispel that darkness. Thanks for your wonderful comments. God bless you and your family always.
salt was also used as a meat preserver. it still may be used in meathouses, i'm not sure, but i do know it preserves.
keeps meat fresh. sorry, hit publish too fast.
Hi Heiresschild,
As I explained to Arthur, salt was used during the time of Jesus as a very precious commodity to preserve meat and to give taste to food. It was so valuable that sometimes they form part of a civil servant's wages. But there was another type of salt that was harvested from the dead sea and it loses its flavor very immediately. As soon as it loses its flavor, it was just thrown away because it no longer served any purpose. Jesus used this kind of salt to illustrate that when people lose their salt (worth or value in the kingdom of God)they are no better than this kind of salt and are just thrown away and trampled underfoot. Such is the case of backsliders who profess to know and love the Lord but their hearts are elsewhere. What then is their value to God's kingdom? Thanks for your message. God bless.
Hey Mel - definately as many agree one would love to be in the second book....
Just posing a question - which I know you can insightfully explain....(something I have been pondering)
The people who you describe - selfish - surely have lost their way and are suffering in their own ways...
do you think that if GOD has given a person - the power to think rationally - work hard - acheive something - but he does it with a purpose to share that achievment with not so fortunate....is such a thing possible or do we succumb to these so called "niceties" along the way and forget the purpose....
how does one train himself to keep that focus....
thanks for the wonderful post....may everyone be blessed.
Hi Ceedy,
To me what's important is what motivates a person. If he strives to attain his own personal glory and the praises of other men, he is doomed to failure. He may succeed at first but in the long run his evil motives will cause his own ruin. Man can strive for great deeds that will redound to the benefit of his fellowmen and will give glory to God. He will succeed with that because his actions are in complete accord with the will of God. There is always a conflict between God's will and man's will. If we strive to always follow God's will in our lives, we will succeed. If we follow our own mortal will without God in the equation, we will surely fail. Even those who have attained so called "success" in life found out that their victory was an empty one and most end their lives in frustration. We must never forget that we are a spiritual being with a spiritual purpose for our lives. What that purpose is, is the quest we must find to answer all the questions in our minds. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you and your family always.
thanks for the teachings on salt Mel. very informative.
Mel,
I'm not that big a believer in God, though I must say that i aint an atheist.
For me, its us who are the makers and the breakers as well.
coz firmly believe in, "man is the architect of his own destiny."
Nice post.
:)
Hi Heiresschild,
It's always my pleasure my friend. Thanks again for your visit. God bless.
Hi Cinderalla,
Thanks for your visit and for your comments. I respect your position. No problem with that. Have a pleasant and nice day always.
I loved the line "Light of the world,salt of the earth" the first time you wrote about it and even more now!
Materialistic gains do not matter,they are all temporary and in the end,it is what we do as a human for other humans that counts.
Thanks for the thoughtful post.God Bless You and your family my friend.Take care.
Hi Sameera,
The verse "light of the world and salt of the earth" was taken from the Bible, it was not coined by me. Yes, I agree with you that what man does for God and his fellowmen will count rather than what materialistic achievements he will accumulate. After all, he can never take them with him beyond the grave. Thanks for your visit and your comments my wonderful friend. I hope you are doing well in your work in Dubai. God bless you and your family always.
It was refreshing to read about a perspective on materialistic pleasures rather than a broken relationship. That's all on my mind these days.
Hi Solitaire,
Your point is not quite clear. You said you wanted to read a perspective on materialistic pleasures than a broken relationship. I do not dwell on materialistic pleasures, it is the opposite I strive for, and it is spiritual advancement. Anyway, to each his own my friend and I do respect your position. Thanks for your visit and for your comment. God bless you and your family always.
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