Jesus invites his followers to consider the ways that we might benefit the world around us. Jesus sees in us as a group of people that can respond to the brokenness of the world in the same ways that he did.  That is what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, to learn to do what he would do if he were in our life settings, and then go and live that way.

Jesus calls his followers to be salt and light.  Salt preserves and adds flavor. To follow Jesus’s teachings is for the purpose of preserving a decaying world marked by sin, but also a way to bring out the best in the people who live in this broken world. Light illuminates a dark world. It’s how we help people to find their way to God.

We have more to offer the world than we often think.  Fear and uncertainty often hold us back, but Jesus tells us that we have the possibility in us to preserve, to call out, and shine light on a world that is desperate for it.