Got Salvation?

I remember the first time I read Philippians 2:12. St. Paul’s instructions rang a bell, and once a bell rings it can never be un-rung.

“…work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”

In terms of salvation, “work out” implies some sort of process (not something that is instantaneous) and “fear and trembling” reminds us that it’s something that can be lost during said process. It seems St. Paul had a rather catholic understanding of salvation. But how does one receive salvation and eternal life? Is it really by faith alone as some might claim?

 

Perhaps the Bible alone will clear this up. St Peter’s speech at Pentecost made it clear as we read in Acts 2:38. After receiving the Holy Spirit, Peter said to the crowd “Repent and declare Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and ask him to come into your heart and you will receive salvation this very instant with no possibility of ever losing it.” Well, that’s not exactly what St. Peter said in the Bible, in fact, it is not written anywhere in the Bible.

So, are you saved?

How does one get saved?

What must we do?

What does the Bible teach?

 

Must you repent and be baptized, right?

“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 2:38

 

How about just baptism alone?

“This prefigured baptism, which saves you now...”

1 Peter 3:21

 

Belief in Jesus alone?

“Believe in the Lord Jesus and you and your household will be saved.”

Acts 16:31

 

Belief in God alone?

“…whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life.”

John 5:24

 

Words alone?

“I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God.”

Luke 12:8

 

“By your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” Mt 12:37

 

 Works alone?

“Who will repay everyone according to his works: eternal life to those who seek glory, honor, and immortality through perseverance in good works”

Romans 2:6-7

 

“See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

James 2:24

 

“…those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation.”

John 5:29

 

Grace alone?

“On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way as they.”

Acts 15:11

 

Obedience alone?

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.”

John 3:36

 

“But if the wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed, if he keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live. He shall not die!”

Ezekiel 18:21

 

Eating alone???

“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life...”

John 6:54

 

Given all this, how can anyone claim, using the Bible alone, that salvation is by one thing alone? None of the above items can be dismissed as part of our salvation process, nor can any one item be emphasized at the cost of the others.

As a side, does the Bible really teach, or do people teach? If it is people who teach, it does beg some questions about who should teach, and by what authority, and would God provide for any such authority? The answer lies in the Church that teaches the fullness of faith as well as salvation in its fullness.


You're kinda lost without it...

Let’s now get back to the mother of all questions:
Are you saved?
 

Think of a man sinking in quicksand that wants to be saved and sees a rescue team on the way. He has every confidence that he will be saved and shouts “I’m saved!”, but he is not actually saved until he’s out of the mud. It’s this same with us as we “work out” our salvation as part of the Church militant on earth with great confidence that we will one day be members of the Church triumphant in heaven.

Much of the preceding post was inspired by a book called "Crossing the Tiber" by Stephen Ray; a former non-Catholic Christian turned Catholic apologist.

 

Why Attend Mass?

Perhaps you have a friend or relative that rarely attends Mass, but did attend at Christmas. Perhaps you asked, or at least thought, “Why you don’t come next week and the week after?” If you were so bold as to invite them back as a kind of New Year’s resolution, you may have received a polite, “we’ll see” in response, which is often translated as “of course not”.

 

If you persist, you’ll eventually enter a realm the separates man from beast, the realm of the intellect, the desire to know “why”. A Catholic that “believes” to some extent will eventually ask why, even if only asking the question internally. Attending Mass is nice, but why necessary? God is everywhere, why can’t I be left alone to worship in my own way? Replying back that it is an obligation or a precept of the Church tends not to satisfy. Mentioning the violation of the first and third commandments may get more attention, but can still be seen as “finger wagging”. You’d do better noting that if the first is followed, abiding to the third will come naturally.

Another tactic came about for me and my wife as we became involved with the marriage ministry at our parish. One of the things we do is to meet with engaged couples in our home to review the results of their FOCCUS questionnaire. It covers many practical topics of compatibility including finances, communication, extended family issues, sexuality issues, etc. It’s a tool to help couples work through issues before marriage.

Of course, there are religious topics as well and the topics of marriage covenant and religion can be quite awkward when speaking with interfaith couples or catholic couples in which one or both are nominal in their faith. It’s not uncommon for us to dialog with couples in which one or both rarely attend Mass (if ever), and yet they still see it as important to be married in the Catholic Church (thankfully).

The following three areas of reasoning help to satisfy their intellect, at least to some extent. Since what you know will influence what you do, these thoughts just might help you tip the scales in getting someone to Mass. As Pope Francis is actively showing us, we need to meet people where they are at without denying the reality of where they are.

In Terms of Relationship:

It’s especially easy to draw this analogy when dealing with couples in love. Imagine you were married and you spent about one hour at Christmas and one hour at Easter with your spouse with no other interaction throughout the year. What kind of relationship would that be? Suppose it was one hour per month? That’s better, but still lacking. Even if it were once per week for about one hour, we might consider it a working relationship, albeit a weak one.

God desires a close relationship with us and all close relationships require time and commitment. How would you feel if your beloved thought that one hour per week with you is too much trouble?

In Terms of Reality:

The above might be easily refuted by saying, “I pray in my own way all the time. No need to sit in a church building. The man upstairs and I have an understanding.” This is when the imagination must be put firmly in its place with a reality check.

We can think of all reality as being made up of two parts; physical realities and spiritual realities. Think of your physical life. To be a physically functioning human being there are times when you must function alone, like getting dressed for the day, or perhaps you sometimes work alone or maybe you live alone. There are also times when you must function with others, like with family, co-workers, community members, etc. We’re social beings; it’s how God made us.

This parallels our spiritual life. To be a spiritually functioning human being there are times when you must function alone, like personal prayer and spiritual study. There are also times when you must function with others, like community worship (Catholics call this Mass). Once again, we’re social beings; it’s how God made us.

Last, but certainly not least…In Terms of the Eucharist:

This goes beyond community worship; it’s the source and summit of the faith. If the body and blood of Christ is given to us a spiritual food, it stands to reason that this is the most intimate thing God can possibly give to a human being still on earth.

So, the God of the universe wants this extreme level of intimacy with us and our response is…

- Too tried

Thou shalt NOT
have better things to do!

- Too busy

- No time

- Don’t feel like it

- I have better things to do

Think of how offensive this apathetic attitude must be to God? In this context, it seems more than appropriate to refer to skipping Mass as “grave matter”.

If the truth about relationships, the social & spiritual nature of man and the Eucharist really sink in, one’s perspective about attending Mass can change from a pessimistic, "I've got to do this?" to an enthusiastic, "I get to do this!” and it may even turn out that once per week is simply not enough!

“If we attend Mass well, surely we are likely to think about our Lord during the rest of the day, wanting to be always in his presence, ready to work as he worked and love as he loved”
- Josemaria Escriva, Christ is Passing by

Waking Up Is Hard to Do

If you were to stumble across a motionless human body, you could determine if the body was alive via signs, like a heartbeat or breathing. Observing these signs, one could say the body is alive, but only alive in a minimal sense.  A human fully alive would have many more signs of life like dancing, playing, working, loving, learning, etc.

The same is true for waking-up. Upon observing signs like siting, walking, talking, etc. one could say a person is awake, but perhaps not fully awake, like the person not fully alive. We might experience a waking up process every morning feeling tired, slow and groggy at first, but energetic after a baptism of sorts in a hot shower.

Of course the signs are never the destination. Signs always point to something else, so the signs of being fully alive or awake point to perfect being itself. If God is perfect being itself, then the glory of God is seen in a person fully alive.

Why all this talk about waking up? I recently read Waking Up Catholic by Chad Torgerson from Assisi Media. The book is geared toward those converts, reverts, or anyone just waking up Catholic, perhaps still groggy with blurred vision under the towering sky of Catholic light. The author brings his perspective based on personal experience being first an atheist, then a non-denominational Christian and then finally waking up Catholic.

I’ve heard it said that theology is the highest science. Catholic theology is bright & beautiful, but like any high science, challenging to understand, and like any bright light, difficult to see. It’s all too easy to just turn way from a bright light or to simply mock what we do not understand. Chad’s book presents a very readable overview of the aspects of Catholicism that are thorny to non-Catholic Christians or just unknown to anyone unfamiliar with the faith.

• On Sacred Tradition: Learn about tradition with a capital “T” that ultimately comes from God (not men). How important is it to understand this correctly? Well, it’s only the major dividing factor between Catholics and other Christians. Although Christ’s revelation is complete, our understanding of it continues to grow and mature through the centuries and this is where Sacred Tradition comes into play.

Examples are most helpful:

How does the Word of God come to us? How did Adam & Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac & Jacob pass on the Word of God? They had no scriptures (no Torah). It was via tradition. How did the early Christians pass on the Word of God before the New Testament was written; at Bible study? No, it was via tradition. Even today, how does the canon of the Bible come to us? It comes from Sacred Tradition. How do we know that? We know that because the Bible itself does not attest to its own canon.

Instructions NOT found

How does the teaching of the Trinity come to us? The Bible? No, it comes from Sacred Tradition. The word “Trinity” is not found in the Bible and there are verses that imply Jesus is not God. Additionally, the Holy Spirit can easily be interpreted as an allegory for the power of God, not an actual third person.

How does the teaching of marriage as one man and one woman come to us? The Bible? No, once again it comes from Sacred Tradition. There is nothing in scripture that says a man cannot have more than one wife.

• On the Guardians of the Faith: Learn the truth about ministerial priesthood and other religious orders that preach and teach the gospel and serve the needy. No other Church has the rich history and long standing teachings of the Catholic Church. The gates of Hell have not prevailed thanks to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. If we are the body of the Church, the guardians are surly the backbone!

• On Mary and the Saints: The Catholic teachings on Mary and the saints are just as true as any other Sacred Tradition mentioned above. Learn the difference between worshiping and venerating and learn why this doesn’t need to be such a deep & complicated point of division.

• On the Eucharist: Learn how this is a standing or falling point (see John 6:60 & 66). See how the author woke up to an amazing truth instead of turning away from it forever.

• On Confession: Dig into the Biblical roots of Jesus passing on his authority to forgive sins on to mere men and how the earliest Christians confessed their sins to one another. Beyond this, the scriptures are clear about mortal sins (or deadly sins) and those that are not deadly. Even for those who hold tight to Bible alone theology, there is no denying the distinctions in sin and that some cannot be simply “prayed away” (see 1 John 5:16-17).

• On Action: Get tips on who should evangelize, why evangelize and how to evangelize. The clergy shepherd the flock, but it’s our job to help it grow. Just as someone once planted a seed in you, you should plant a seed (or two) in others. Why? The author summed it up well. “The world is crumbing underneath the weight of selfish desires and sinful lifestyles. Now more than ever, society needs to re-embrace Christ as her Savior.”

I'm often surprised how many Catholics don't know that the word Catholic comes from the Greek word “katholikos”, which means universal, and what an appropriate word that is. To wake up Catholic is to find yourself in a universal Church that was founded for everyone. Universal, not in the sense of accepting everything, but to understand everything as God reveals it to be; to wake up to the fullness of faith; a worldwide light so bright that it reveals the grains of truth contained in everything else.

The Weedbed of Sin

I attended a Mass given by a Franciscan friar, Fr Gregory, this weekend.  His homily gave birth to this post in my head.

In my earlier post, The Flowering of Evangelization, I drew the comparison between flowers and the virtues of Faith, Hope and Love.  Faith is the root, Hope is the stem and Love is the flower.   I asserted that Faith, like a flowering plant, is reproduced in others in the flower itself.  Not via the Hope in the stem, nor in the root Faith, but via the beauty and attractiveness of the flower on top.

Fr Gregory described his encounter with a weed in an otherwise lovely garden of bushes and flowers.  The weed had the tuft of white seedlings in full bloom, ready to be scattered.  The leaves below had sharp, spiky ends that would cut if handled.   The root was a long tapper that had bored deeply into the soil.

Knowing that this weed would spread and choke out all the other plants if left untended, he reached to pull it out.  Taking hold at the top, he simply shook the spore free, causing the seeds to spread.  This would eventually cause the weed to proliferate even faster.   Taking hold at the level of the leaves, he cut his hand on the sharp spikes that surrounded the stalk.  It was very painful.  He eventually reached as far down the stalk as possible to grasp the weed at the root.  He slowly and deliberately pulled the root out of the ground, careful to not break off the least part or else it would simply grow back.



This is a lesson for us when dealing with our sins.  Unlike evangelization, eradicating sin works from the bottom up.  Simply letting the sin alone will allow the sin to take deep root in us and will proliferate at its own pace.  Even worse is to take notice of it casually and half-heartedly pull at the top (why be radical?  everyone's got a little sin, right?).  This just scatters the seeds into other areas, accelerating its spread.

We may think to take a big swipe at it all at once and grab it in the middle to pull it out.  We immediately snatch our hand away from the sin.  It's too painful!  I'm not about to do THAT again!  Better to leave it alone.

No, the best approach is to get to the root of the sin. Here, speed is the enemy and may cause the root to snap making us think we have won when there is still more to be found, later to sprout.  Dig deep and get it all!

Lessons learned:

1. Don't ignore the sin.  It will lead to more sin.
2. Don't play with sin.  Rationalizing that it's okay will simply spread it faster.
3. Don't think you can quickly end sin.  It can be painful to attack it, leaving you unwilling to try again.
4. Go for the root!  Discover the need in you that is driving the sin.  Uncover your own motivations.  How does this sin have a hold on you?  What rationalizations do you make to protect it?  Work it out slowly and carefully.
5. Fill the empty hole.  Plant a virtue where the empty hole was.  Otherwise, a new sin will find the soil already softened and ready.

This last lesson is very important.  Once a habitual sin is defeated, it is never permanently gone.  In times of boredom or temptation, it will seek to return.  Seeds are everywhere.  You must seek to fill that time with virtuous activity.  You must always remember that you never want that sin back in your life.  You must recall the work and self-denial you put yourself through to rid your life of it.

Make sure there's no bare earth in which to grow.  Plant yourself a garden of virtues!

What's Your Trigger?

I recently finished a book called “By What Authority? An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition” written by Mark Shea. Mark even signed it for me over at one of his favorite places and mine, Marytown. The book made me think of “triggers”.

NO, not this Trigger!!!

Some background explanation would be helpful:

I deal with some complex problem solving (troubleshooting) for a living. To do this effectively one needs to be very cognizant of what is fact vs. what is opinion vs. what is an assumption; an awareness of what mental “lens” you are viewing a problem through is needed because we all see things through filters. This is not a bad thing as long as you are aware of the filters.

Once a seemly complex problem is separated & clarified into manageable items, you can ask a simple question which can eventually lead you to the root of things. Ask “What’s your trigger?” In other words, what are you experiencing that tells you there is a problem?

 

This is what I'm talking about.

 

Everyday Examples:

Ø  Someone says, “I have a problem. My car is out of alignment.”

Question: What’s your trigger? What are you experiencing that tells you your car is out of alignment?

 

Answer: While driving, the car pulls to the left.

 

There are different things that can cause a car to pull to one side, like low tire pressure on one side for example. Being “out of alignment” is actually an assumption which could be true or false. You’ve heard of jumping to conclusions; where I work, this would be called a “jump-to-cause”

 

Ø  Someone says, “I have a burned-out light bulb.”

Question: What’s your trigger? What are you experiencing that tells you there is a burned out light bulb?

Answer: I turn on the light switch and there is no light.

There are different things that can cause a light not to turn on other than a burnt bulb.  A brunt out bulb is another assumption or jump-to-cause.

Understanding triggers also helps with evangelization.
Religious Examples:

Ø  Someone says, “The Catholic Church hates gay people.”

Question: What’s your trigger? What are you experiencing that tells you the Catholic Church hates gay people?

Answer: They are against same-sex marriage and that’s just mean.

An informed person will know that the Church defining marriage as one man & one woman has nothing to do with hating anyone, but has everything to do with marriage being something permanent, unitive, mutually exclusive AND PROCREATIVE.

 

Ø  Someone says, “Catholics worship statues.”

Question: What’s your trigger? What are you experiencing that tells you Catholics worship statues?

Answer: I saw a Catholic kneeling in front of a statue.

 

Though kneeling is used as a posture in worship, not all kneeling is worship; it can just be an indication of respect.

 

 

So what does any of this have to do with an Evangelical Christian discovering Catholic Sacred Tradition? The author of the book was an Evangelical Christian (now Catholic) when he came across the teachings of the some modernist Christians (i.e. The Jesus Seminar) who taught things like:

Ø  The miracles of the Jesus (walking on water, multiplication of loaves/fish, the resurrection, etc.) are not to be taken literally, they are parables told in dramatic form to make a spiritual point.

Ø  St. Paul’s self-loathing, self-criticism, and his sense of being controlled by something he had no power to change could only be explained by the fact that he was a homosexual in denial of the truth.

Ø  Mary giving birth as a virgin is a false tradition. In fact, it was probably made-up by the early Christians to cover-up a rape or some other unthinkable scandal.

Ø  The canon of scripture is another false human tradition that left out many good writings like the Gospel of Thomas, the Didache and the epistles of Barnabas & Ignatius, just to name a few.


Meet the Modernists

Of course, a good Evangelical Christian will be prepared to defend “true” Bible Christianity, inspired by 1 Peter 3:15, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” The first three points above can be argued, more or less, using the Bible ALONE, but the fourth point poses a serious problem to which we can ask our question, “What’s your trigger?” or “What are you experiencing that tells you there is a problem?”

Instructions for canon NOT found.

The trigger for this case is the fact that the Bible is not self-attesting to its own canon. Why exactly would a non-Catholic Christian accept the present canon of biblical books as something other than human tradition?  As the author states in his book, without a clear answer to this question a “purely biblical argument for Christianity was a series of neatly fashioned logic links attached to a hook hanging on a nail hammered firmly into…nothing.”

Beyond the canon of scripture there are other doctrines firmly held by non-Catholic Christians that are not explicitly found in the Bible. Marriage should be defined as one man and one woman, right? You may be surprised to learn that there is nothing in scripture that says a man cannot have more than one wife. In fact, when this question was posed to Martin Luther he said, “I confess that I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict scripture. If a man wishes to marry more than one wife, he should be asked whether he is satisfied in his conscience that he may do so in accordance with the word of God”.

How about the doctrine of the Trinity? There are plenty of verses in scripture that seem to hint that Jesus is NOT God, and the Holy Spirit could be seen as just an allegory for power of God, NOT an actual third person. The author flashed back to a Christian radio talk show he once heard where a caller was giving the host good Arian-type arguments that say Jesus was not God. After a lot of back and forth with various scripture verses, the radio host basically fell back on an interpretive Christian tradition as the final authority, saying that the caller’s interpretation is not consistent with Christian history. After all, how could twenty centuries of an interpretive tradition be wrong, and the caller’s interpretation be right?
 

As mentioned, we view reality through mental lenses or filters which is natural and not a big obstacle as long as we have an awareness of them. As we have seen, non-Catholic Christians can be so focused on the Bible that they forget all about the interpretive lens through which they read the Bible. As Catholics, we can be so out of touch with our own faith that selfishness, secularism and politics become our interpretive lens.

Thinking about triggers can also help clarify the circumstances involving non-practicing Catholics. They’re not practicing for a reason because every effect has a cause. Whether it’s something specific like a divorce or bad childhood experience, or something general like the “Don’t Know, Don’t Care” church policy. Once you know the triggers, you can start working on the answers.

In closing, I’ll leave you with a quote from the end of the book which has some striking & beautiful imagery about the fullness of the Catholic faith:

“I found my little kernel of Bible-only wheat, once dead, put down roots as deep as the whole of Sacred Tradition and grew up under the towering sky of Catholic light into a Christian faith far stronger, greener, and more fruitful than ever before – and one more rooted in inspired scripture than it ever was.”

 

The Flowering of Evangelization

In speaking to my wife about evangelization, we were comparing how other people either drew us closer or pushed us away in the way they embodied the gospel to us. Whether it was in the way they spoke to us or in the way they acted toward others; both their deliberate and unintentional actions spoke volumes of how they perceived and lived their faith. There were those who claimed the title "Christian" and wanted us to be saved, but disparaged our Catholic faith because they didn't think it was "Christian" enough. There were others who appeared to live uprightly, but spoke badly of others under their breath.

These people didn't live the faith they professed, yet somehow thought since, it was "right," we ought to give them a hearing. We were actually pushed away from their faith by such poor ambassadors. How ought we ourselves witness to our faith?

The Catholic tradition teaches three "theological" virtues: Faith, Hope and Love (or Charity). They are often metaphorically depicted as a flowering plant. Faith in God is the root of this plant. It is where the bedrock of mundane knowledge and the upward stretch of faith meet. It is a departure point and a return point, a place from which strength is drawn and growth begins as well as a sure center on which to "ground" oneself. Faith in God looks upward while non-faith is content to stay on the ground where all seems secure. It is often said that the stirrings of faith is that yearning for ultimate meaning or purpose which, of necessity, cannot be found on the ground.

Hope is the virtue that allows us to leave the ground and push upward. It is a strong belief that we are on the right track and we can trust the path we are on. Trust is another word that describes Hope. We trust that the faith we have will not fail us. It is Faith being put to the test. We cannot clearly see the end to which our faith leads, but when we rely on it, slowly at first, then with stumbling steps, leaving the safe and secure behind, we trust that there is another stepping stone out there in the dark on which to place our feet. As we become more confident in that hope, as we trust more and more to the promises of faith, we grow. It's a positive feedback loop. Hope, then, is the stem of the plant. It is the strong branches and spreading leaves that both uphold us and allow us to take in more and more of the sunshine.

Love is the flower. It is both the culmination of faith and hope and the means of reproduction. It is the beauty of the soul and the passion of sexual love. It is the fulfillment of the promise, the telos (goal) of our existence, the way we become all that we were meant to be. It is beauty, firstly, because others can see that beauty. It makes visible the invisible potential within us. It does not simply dress up an otherwise ugly plant, it actually shows the reality of that plant. The plant is a beautiful thing in itself, but the flower allows the merely physical senses to know it as well. It is the means of reproduction because a flower that has germinated, is ready to spread its seeds of faith.

This is where the discussion on evangelization comes in. If I want to share my faith with someone, I don't tell them about my faith first. I don't tell them how much theology I know or how wrong their ideas are for not believing in God. Nor do I tell them how much trust I have in God, how I left my job hoping God would make it all work or how wonderful I think heaven will be someday. I show them the flower. I show them my love. I give them the flower of my love and let them know I trust them with it and that they may have it unconditionally.

I simply love them.

From that point, it may be that they want to know from where this love comes. What is the reason for this abundant love?  What is it inside me that makes it grow?

From within this loving friendship, I can then talk about the reason for my hope. I can explain how it springs from my faith. I can explain how my faith is rooted in the world and how I got here. However, it is all made possible through the flower. We all meet and make true contact with each other at the point at which we love.


Flowers in a field blow in the wind all together, the flower tops swaying and touching, reveling in the release from the ground. Dancing in the breath of air that animates them, which carries the seeds where it will.

Salt and Light

I have frequently heard the phrase in Matthew 5:13, “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot." This phrase has always struck me as odd. For me, salt is an optional seasoning. It is added to food to enhance its flavor, but isn't always required.

Yes, I understand that salt is necessary to help your body maintain fluid balance, help your muscles relax and your nerves transmit signals and even helps maintain normal blood pressure. But in everyday life, salt is an extra.  What does this metaphor mean when applied to Christians?

I recently listened to a conference excerpt by Kimberly Hahn and she was able to make this metaphor come alive for me. I'll paraphrase...

 When you go to a movie theater, the first thing you smell is the popcorn. Even before you go inside. There's that smell. By the time you get up to the counter, you are ready to grab the extra-large-super-size bucket. You carry it back to your seat and begin to enjoy handful after handful of popped goodness. After a short time, you wish you had bought that super-sized drink as well! You become so thirsty! Why? It's the salt. The salt in the popcorn makes you thirsty for something else.

And there it is. Like salt, Christians ought to be making people thirsty for God. Your presence in the world should cause people to become aware of their own lack of God and begin to actively look for it.

Like the adjoining metaphor in the following passage (verse 14), "You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden," a Christian who is light does not shine so people can see him, a Christian shines so that others might see God. They are the means by which God is made visible.   A Christian is a sign that points to something else, something beyond what is plainly there. Neither the salt nor the light are there for themselves; they are not the final destination.  Their effectiveness is their ability to show the way to something else.

 For Christians, the signs point to God.