Religious and non-religious persons are familiar with Christ’s preaching of the Beatitudes and can at least paraphrase many of them.  Likewise, many persons are familiar with what Christ preached following the Beatitudes.  However, few are aware that the two are related.

Following the Beatitudes, Christ tells the crowd: “You are the salt of earth … light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-15).  Through theses two phrases Christ commissioned His followers to share the blessings of His Kingdom expressed in the Beatitudes with others.  That is, His followers are to conduct their private and public lives accounting to the Beatitudes, in so doing they will be salt that brings out the flavor in their life and the life of others.  Furthermore, salt is a preservative.  A life lived according to the Beatitudes can be preserved for all eternity.

Likewise, a light that cannot be concealed radiates from a life lived according to the Beatitudes.  The light will shine for all to see and draw those live in darkness to light of life.