In Matthew 5:13-16 Jesus states: “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven””
Last time I wrote about discussing the beatitudes with your children. The beatitudes are a very difficult section of scripture to teach young children, but nevertheless a very important section of scripture for children to know about. Interestingly, the next few verses in Matthew chapter five are very easy to understand. These verses present a great lesson that children of all different ages can understand.
These four verses teach an incredibly simple, yet very important lesson about living in the world as a follower of God. The world is a dark, sad place full of sin and those following Christ need to stand out as a light in the world. Followers of God need to have the same effect that salt has on food to the individuals in the world around them.
One of the wonderful things about sharing this section of scripture with your children is that there is a children’s song which fits very well with this teaching. The song “This Little Light of Mine” expresses the idea that we must all let our light shine, not hide it, nor allow “Satan to blow it out.”
This teaching also lends itself to a couple of activities which can make a big impression on children. The first is to consider the saltiness of salt, and how big a difference just a little bit of salt can make. Allow your children to taste water without anything in it. Next, add just a small amount of salt to the water and allow your children to taste it again. Secondly, you do a demonstration with a candle. First, turn out all the lights in a room and allow children to see how dark the room gets. Next, light a small, single candle and let the children observe the effect the candle has in the room.
After these demonstrations you can further explain the importance of being a follower of God in the world.
All Scripture references are taken from the ESV.
Read the previous Bible Stories: The Beatitudes