Guardian

A NEW Year, usually, brings great hope and expectation, new plans and projects, and of course, many wishes and wants. We approach the New Year expecting all the goodness it can deliver and what we can take out of it. We rarely think of our obligations; what we should contribute to the realisation of our aspirations in year. Yet, bridging this disconnect holds the key to the fulfillment of New Year wishes. This explains why this New Year, the Lord wants us to change the way we think, and begin to see ourselves as agents of the change we need or desire, rather than beneficiaries only. To make the most of the New Year, to enjoy the blessings and the new vistas of hope it holds, we must live as salt and light in the world.  “Ye are the salt of the earth,” the Lord Jesus Christ charged in His Sermon on the Mount. “But if the salt hath lost the savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is, therefore, good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid, neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

In comparing us to salt, Jesus Christ wants us to live as moral preservatives. He also wants us to be light in a world generally groping in the darkness of corrupt and degenerate practices and lifestyle. Otherwise, we cannot experience the progress and uplift we so earnestly yearn for. We should make a difference in our world and brighten our little corner, as this will go a long way in helping us to actualise our expectations in the year. But we cannot be salt and light of the world without first experiencing a change of life. This comes when we turn away or repent from all known sinful and indulgent practices by expressing faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us. This freedom from sin or conversion experience guarantees a thriving personal relationship with God, by whose grace only we can live as salt and light of the world. This salvation frees our will and conscience from the condemnation, guilt and shame of sin. It results in Christ’s saving power working in us, “both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

Our inward state determines out outward acts. Who we are determines what we do and what we do determines our happiness, usefulness and destiny. What we bring into the New Year will determine what the New Year will bring to us. A salty life produces a sweet experience, just as light produces a brightened existence. Christ’s statement in His Sermon on the Mount shows us the imperative for salty saints in our corrupt and halting world. What a great revelation for the New Year! Prophet Elisha, in the Bible, used salt in healing the bitter waters of Jericho, which underscores its importance in our day-to-day living. What would this world be without salt? It is the cleansing agent that purifies the water on earth and a necessary healing or health-preserving agent for our body. It delays the process of corruption and death on earth. It is useful to man and demanded by God. Salt makes the bitter sweet; makes the useless useful; gives value and worth to otherwise stale and tasteless lives. The sweetness of salt is not hidden, but is shared and spread with all that come in contact with it. Isolated, the salt is useless. Selfish isolation results in uselessness and worthlessness. Careful, purposeful association makes salt valuable to human life. Purposeful interaction and scriptural association brings value and usefulness as salt on earth. Therefore, “let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus stresses, not only the imperative for salty saints but also the influence of shining believers in a world such as ours. He hands us the guidelines to follow if we are to make this New Year a fulfilling one.

Influence is a word as well as a concept that everyone must be conscious of. Everyone has a capacity to exercise some influence on those around them. The question is: what kind of influence do you have on people? In this New Year, we must ensure that we have a positive influence on the people we live and interact with. Actually, some men have negative, misleading influence on people, while others have good, positive influence. Some influence individuals, others influence nations and even the world. Some influence a generation, others influence many generations. Such is the positive influence the Lord wants us to have this New Year. Consider what a great influence light is! We do more during the day when we have the light of the sun than we do in the night. In the ever-shining glare of the daylight, we are purposefully and positively active; in the night we come to a standstill. Similarly, in the light of shining Christians, the world around us is influenced and motivated to move in good, profitable direction. We give meaning to our lives and add value to other people’s lives as we shine the gospel light to all around us.

Every new day we must let our light shine so bright that others around us will notice it. The light of yesterday cannot brighten our path today. Each day of this new year, each day of our years on earth, we must let our light so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven. This is Christ’s instruction to all His disciples, then, now and always. Jesus Himself is the great eternal Light. He is the true Light, the source of all spiritual and moral light. In Him we have light, through Him we become lights in the world. And as His representatives, we should be the light of the world, reflecting His light, His goodness and His influence to those around us.

References: Matthew 5:13-16; Philippians 2:13; 2 Kings 2:19-22; Job 6:6; Colossians 4:6; Leviticus 2:13; Ezekiel 43:24; Numbers 18:19; 2 Chronicles 13:5; Mark 9:50; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Philippians 2:14-16; 1 Peter 2:9; Proverbs 4:18; 2 Samuel 23:3,4; Daniel 12:3; (All scriptures are from Kings James Version).