Christians in the public square - salt and light

 

 

 

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.

 Let us do good.

 

 

 

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