Salt and Light by J. H. Hartog

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · May 11, 1915

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 42, No. 19.

Salt and Light

By J. H. Hartog

WHO is the salt of the earth? Does Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, mean everybody? And who is the light of the world? Is the drunkard in the gutter the salt of the earth? The preacher who misquotes the Bible—is he the light of the world?

We are all God’s creatures. He loves us all. But not all are the salt and the light.

Note that all the beatitudes refer to the third person, until the last one, where the speaker uses “ye”—“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you. . . . Ye are the salt of the earth . . . the light of the world.” And vice versa, those who, as the salt of the earth, will, through their Christian actions, affect the world for good, and through their words, let the message of the kingdom be a light to their fellows, shall be scoffed at, reviled, and persecuted, for His sake. And the Master says that such are blessed.

A dear thought, indeed, to be blessed by Him because mistreated by His enemies! How infinitely superior to being made much of by man, but condemned by Him!

J. H. HARTOG.