When Jesus says that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, he is both announcing our specialness, and warning us not to lose it!

Both salt and light are things which have an effect way beyond their size. Think of a light-bulb in a cellar (and how you miss it if it doesn’t work) and think of salt in the boiled potatoes (and what they taste like without). A whole room, and a whole meal can depend on something very small being there, and doing what it is supposed to do.

Each member of the Church is the same. We may look insignificant and small by ourselves, but when, in faith, we keep the word of God as something to live by, and obey the promptings of the Spirit, then simple words and small actions can have effects way beyond what we imagine.

The Lord works through his people so that their human words and actions can have divine power. But what if, out of fear (which is a lack of faith) we decide to follow the crowd instead of our conscience? What if we keep silent when we should speak up, or think that compromise with principles is the best policy? Then, we a really do become small - not tangy salt but dust, not a source of light but a brittle piece of glass fit for the bin.

Let’s encourage each other to be special, to be loyal to the faith, obedient to the Word of God, brave little witnesses in tiny ways that God will use to complete his plan, let’s be men and women of prayer.

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