Salt and Light

The Inspire Bible Fellowship at Goffs Oak have been studying the Sermon on the Mount.  Last time, we looked at salt and light.  In the course of preparing for the session, I learned a few things.  I have often puzzled as to how salt could lose its saltiness, sodium chloride isn't a chemical that degrades.  It turns out that the reference in the Sermon on the Mount refers to a crude mixture of sand and salt that was used to disinfect latrine areas. The crude salt would be stored in a pile outside and when it rained, it was possible for the salt to get washed away, leaving the sand and grit behind.  When that happened, it was rendered useless for maintaining the hygiene in the latrine and had to be thrown away.

The idea of being salt and light seems quite strange to is in the 21st century, but to the folk of the first century had no such problems.  Jesus used the everyday things to illustrate what he was trying to say. We need to get to grips with Jesus' message and follow his concepts as Kingdom people.