Thursday, November 6, 2008

Light and Salt

“Ye are the Salt”: First we understand that the salt is the covenant (D&C 101 39-40; Lev. 2). Second, Jesus does not say: “Ye must be the salt” this is not for the covenant follower to decide, they are whether they like it or not. Covenant holders have been made salt by way of participation in covenant relationships with the Lord the disciple becomes the covenant. Again Jesus does not say “Ye have the salt” either. Jesus is speaking of the disciple’s entire existence as their lives are rooted in Christ and His gospel; it is the burden of the beatitudes in one simple statement.
The other option is for salt loses its savor and therefore is good for nothing and must be thrown away because it stopped working. Salt can’t loose savor with age only with contamination and mixture. Similarly, the covenant does not wear out or loose power with age only by worldly contamination. That seems to be a peculiar quality of salt, everything needs to be seasoned with it but once salt has lost the savor, it can never be used again. Everything else can be saved by salt however bad it has gone; only salt which loses its saver has no hope of recovery. This is the judgment hanging over the covenant community, whose mission is to salt (“covenantize”) the world. The Church has the covenant responsibility to save the world. The stone cut out of the mountain (Dan 2) is huge and rolling fast; either we push the stone by following the call or be crushed beneath it.
Then the call of Christ goes to the next level and makes the covenant family the light of the world. Their activity becomes visible. “Ye are the light” and that light is seen of men. Covenant holders do not become the light; no, they already are the light for Christ has made them so through the covenant relationship. The light is not an instrument placed into their hands such as the standard works or even the spoken word, it is the disciples themselves. Covenant bearers are the light in their entire existence. The disciple must remain true to the covenant and not contaminate the salt which is the conductor for the light. Because the disciple is the light hiding is no longer an option. The natural property of light to shine; therefore the city set on the hill cannot be hid. Again "cannot" implies even if the disciple wills it otherwise, it is not possible to hide that kind of light, the light of Christ through the covenant. A city with that kind of wattage can be seen for miles by everyone. Flight to the invisible is against the call of the covenant. Too many covenant holders have a bushel made from the fibers of the fear of men and worldly conformity. The covenant man and woman must learn to stand alone in a crowd of peers, stand alone for Christ and His eternal covenant.