MATTHEW 5.13-20<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nYes, Christmas is over, January and February have gone…and with that perhaps for you already the light and joy of Christmas has already been dulled, perhaps life feels as if Christmas tree and all its decorations and lights are all packed away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, what has happened? When did the promises of Christmas, our joy to the world full of fragrance, flavour, and light suddenly leave us and get caught up again in the worldly treadmill of the mundane? Because dull and boring I have to say is not really Christ\u2019s style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His coming into the world, his healing, his teaching ministry, even his death kept those who followed him and even those who opposed him always on their feet as to what he was going to do next and that\u2019s how we should be as Christians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First Peter 1:9 says: \u201cBut you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God\u2019s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.\u201d We are called, to make a difference, we are called to be salt and light in the world. Paul says: \u201cno eye has seen, nor ear has heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him\u201d Salt has gained a particularly bad reputation in recent decades. It\u2019s a reasonably inexpensive commodity in our culture generously poured into cheese, butter, margarine, snack food, breakfast cereals, canned goods, soy sauce, and processed foods. Yet it\u2019s also linked to major health problems in which individuals who eat too much salt are at a risk of developing high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and even stomach cancer. Of course, the way in which modern people view salt is decidedly different from those of centuries ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Biblical times salt was rare, hard to obtain, and considered a very precious commodity, and with that in mind we\u2019re better able to understand why Jesus used the image in today\u2019s gospel saying: \u201cYou are the salt of the earth\u201d Yet Jesus used this analogy so that they could easily understand that just as the first-century culture placed a very high value on salt. He taught his followers to act for God in ways as important and varied as salt was in their world and continues to be in ours. Yet so often, we\u2019re not like that. So often we\u2019re like salt that remains in the shelf of our pantries for ages or idle like the shakers on our dining-room tables. Yet Jesus warns us if this is our attitude, he says: \u201cbut if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For salt to become effective, to do its work, however, it must be released from its container.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s the same with us, God can release us from what entraps us so we can truly salt the people of the earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet unlike many modern people whose health depends on moderation in eating sodium, we salty Christians do not need to go on a spiritual salt-free diet. Rather become the salt of the earth but even more than that, let us become salt AND LIGHT on the earth, and bring the fresh joy of Christmas back into our community amongst our families, our friends, our neighbourhoods and our country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Lord be with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ron Paton
TRAX Chaplain<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" CROSSTRAX! One man\u2019s viewabout the thingsthat really matter…. GOSPEL REFLECTION MATTHEW 5.13-20 Yes, Christmas is over, January and February have gone…and with that perhaps for you already the light and joy of Christmas has already been dulled, perhaps life … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cross-trax"],"yoast_head":"\nGOSPEL REFLECTION - TRAX 4WD Fellowship<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/gospel-reflection\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"GOSPEL REFLECTION - TRAX 4WD Fellowship\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\" CROSSTRAX! 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