Article October 18, 1952 Issue

"THE SALT OF THE EARTH"

ELROY C. ROBERTSON

From time immemorial salt has been considered a factor contributing to the well-being of mankind. In addition to its use as a condiment which gives taste and zest to that which would otherwise seem insipid, it is used as a preservative against spoilage and decay. By the ancient Hebrews it was credited with many other virtues, being considered important in sacrificial ritual and necessary for hygienic purposes. Hence in Jesus' time salt, as a result of its many uses, had acquired a symbolical significance which related it to purity and permanence, to the preservations of life as opposed to disintegration and death.

Consequently it must have been in a symbolical sense that the Master, Christ Jesus, used the word in addressing his disciples as "the salt of the earth." Nor could he have been speaking to them alone. To the students of his teachings throughout all time ring out the words (Matt. 5:13), "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men." These words indicate the vital necessity of attaining that Christian state of consciousness which the earnest, unremitting study of Jesus' words and works makes possible and which is indispensable for the healing of a sick world.

That this pronouncement specifically applies to the student of Christian Science today, right now, is made abundantly clear in the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." Here Mary Baker Eddy writes (p. 367): "A Christian Scientist occupies the place at this period of which Jesus spoke to his disciples, when he said: 'Ye are the salt of the earth.' 'Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.' Let us watch, work, and pray that this salt lose not its saltness, and that this light be not hid, but radiate and glow into noontide glory."

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THE THUNDER OF THE LAW AND THE LIGHTNING OF THE GOSPEL
October 18, 1952
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