Matthew 5:13 - 16

13 “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.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Jesus uses natural objects often within illustrations of making spiritual points.

In this verse he uses salt as a way of making a couple of points. Salt has two main characteristics which makes it usable for us.

1 It gives us a way of preserving certain foods, particularly meat to keep it from rotting.

2 It gives us a way of making food taste better to our palettes.

If it loses its capabilities to accomplish these tasks then it is practically useless for anything and might as well be tossed out in the street.

The example is compared to the lives of Christians. The lives of Christians need to give a lesson to the world by teaching and living Christ's word. By living the truth then our lives make it easier for those in the world to understand what the teaching of Christ really means to them.

If we allow our lives to show the doctrine of Christ to be meaningless then our lives are like the salt which has lost its power to save the meat from deterioration and the ability to enrich the taste. Our lives are only worth tossing on the ground and being walked on by the judge.

Christians are the light of the world in the same sense they are the salt of the earth. When we are living the word of Christ then we reflect the light which comes from the Lord. Our actions do speak louder than words. Christ is the hill or mountaintop and if we live correctly the world will see the light of Christ.

The only way the light of Christ can be hidden is if it is intentionally hidden. People do not do this with the lights in their homes. They intentionally find the best place for the light so it spreads the greatest amount of light.

Jesus does not want us to act foolishly and hide our light. We are to live our lives so that we reflect the light of Christ. We do this by doing good in the world. When we do these good works then the truth is reflected and the credit for the good works go to Christ and ultimately to the Father. For our good to give glory to God then our lives must be lived in a manner which God will approve of.