Jesus wants his disciples to be salt and light. As salt we prevent the world from becoming rotten and going bad. We give flavor to things which might otherwise seem quite ordinary. As light we bring truth and therefore hope. We prevent people from stumbling in the darkness. In the light they can be safe from evil. Our light also reveals a direction toward which the world is heading. It is the rising sun of eternity which shows that the night of pain that people experience here is not going to last forever.
Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your heavenly Father.
We might wonder if we really have much to offer. Do we really have enough salt and light to make a difference? In our vanity we want to be more like Elijah when he defeats other prophets or when he calls a drought down on the land. We assume that only greatness like that can really embody the LORD's call in a way that matters. But more often we are called to be like Elijah for whom things are not going so well. We are called to be like Elijah who is on the run, who can't have a massive impact, and who can indeed only help one mother and her son.
For the LORD, the God of Israel, says,
'The jar of flour shall not go empty,
nor the jug of oil run dry,
until the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'"
Elijah becomes salt and light for this mother and her son. Interestingly, he does so by restoring their capacity to help others, and therefore to become salt and light themselves.
"Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink."
She left to get it, and he called out after her,
"Please bring along a bit of bread."
The supernatural is able to break through in this situation precisely because of many instances of small scale fidelity to the LORD's call. This is a model for us.
O LORD, let the light of your countenance shine upon us!
You put gladness into my heart,
more than when grain and wine abound.
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