It must have been hard for Saul so eager to become
the salt and light for God that he pursued the early Christians and
murdered them in Jerusalem and when they had escaped to Damascus went
after them as sinners blaspheming against God. He thought he was doing
right, doing God a favour by getting rid of these Christian cult. Saul
saw the light at the road to Damascus, but he was a one man show rather
than a movement against the Christian revival.
mat 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its
saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for
anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 “You are
the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put
it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the
same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your
good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
So do many of us Christians today, thought that
being salt and light to the world means going out to enforce our moral
codes insisting selectively that gays be put in prison and seeing the
gay threat under every rock and behind every tree whilst seemingly
ignoring the large scale abortions and worshipping of the saintly idols
even within the Christian Faith.
The bible says that we are supposed to be the light
and salt to humanity. It is the light to show forth Christ, and the salt
to relieve the pain and suffering of humanity against the power and
rulers of injustice and harm. Instead, we have become a bitter salt to
many putting those we deemed as sinners into closets and throwing the
key away. Jesus said that we can never hide the lamp of our lives, ie
our light if it was indeed intrinsic, it will shine forth naturally
whether we like it or not. We need not boast about it for others will
recognise it. On the contrary, if the light is not in us, we can’t “be”
the light.
We are reflectors of Christ, and not of ourselves
not our self-righteousness. Did Christ insist that gays per put in
prison, cannot get married, did he insist on a particular Christian
religious law that the common masses need to follow.
In trying to justify our actions, we have the audacity to claim that
Gays are persecuting Christians when we like Saul are hunting them down
especially in Asia and Africa.
When Jesus talked about Christians being the salt to the earth, he
quickly remarked about salt losing its saltiness which is an
impossibility because it is intrinsic. Christians are supposed to be
innately salty and sought after. We are to be a blessing of grace and
hope of God's love and grace and mercy to a hurting world.
Who was Jesus talking about when he made the comment about those
losing their saltiness? He was talking about the religious Pharisees who
was so keen about enforcing the religious laws whilst being worst
sinners themselves. It was a warning to Christians not to follow the
legalistic religious self righteousness of the Pharisees who insisted on
judgement. Lest we learn as we try to enforce 377A and using all sorts
of rethoric and lies about gays in order to justify it.
Mat 25: 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come,
you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom
prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry
and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me
something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed
clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in
prison and you came to visit me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer
him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give
you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you
in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in
prison and go to visit you?’
Let us be mindful of the warning made by Jesus, for if we are too
keen to be salty, we end up being saltless and thrown out of the Kingdom
of God. For Jesus, what it means to be salty is reflected in Mat 25:34
where it was caring for the outcasts, those in need, and taking care of
people. Instead, many Christians want to put gays in prison, and they do
it with a real determined aggenda and passion. Whilst those whom Jesus
called "Salty" do their acts of love, and grace very naturally. When
Jesus commended them, they replied "Lord, when did we see you ....".
We thought we were the light and salt of the world exposing the
imagined gay aggenda when we were persecuting the least and weakest in
society. In essence, just like the Pharisees, we were persecuting Jesus.
We didn't stop persecuting gays until many of the mega churches were
taken to tasks for criticising other faiths or for financial
irregularity, or found arranging a coup to take over a secular
organization. And the Anglican Church in Singapore is still so eager to
continue the fight to stir up Christians to be engaged in the public
despite having a bloody nose. But the time and season is over. Yet, they
still haven't seen the light in their own road to Damascus.
Our preoccupation against gays deflect us from the real spiritual
battles against oppression of the weak, abortions, spiritual
principalities of darkness, and even within the church we are
worshipping saints instead of Jesus, and where the worship of wealth,
and maintenance of power, church hierachal and authority becomes our
god. The Satanic forces attacking the church is no less real yet we
respond by the chasing the gays through the catwalks at Orchard!. Yet,
we see not who is chasing us.
It is Spiritual reality where deception reigns, and what is unseen
is greater than what is seen beyond the world of humanity. We are so
busy fighting the wrong enemy.
What we sow is what we will be reaping. The recent incident
concerning Campus Crusade where a harmless recruiting flyer for missions
made headlines to the strong criticisms from the public. We have been
given freedom which we had used to cause grave harm against gays, but no
longer shall we have the public free play even to speak about the Gospel
because we have treated the grace of God in vain in our crusade against
gays. The time and season is over.
How do we become salt and light?
by following Jesus Christ. For He was gentle, meek and
lowly. He didn't seek to glorify Himself, but to extend the Kingdom of
God in the hearts of people that they might know that Jesus is alive.
The time and season for Christians causing harm in the public square is
over. Let us do good in the land that we are living in, to be a blessing
to all that they may see Christ in us, the hope of glory. If others
don't see us as the salt of the earth, truly we have lost our saltiness.