You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:13-16

Two ways we go wrong:

1. We are salt without light.
2. We are light without salt.

Bottom Line

When we embody Jesus' way in the world, we make God known.

And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8

Do Justice

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices - mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law - justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former.
Matthew 23:23‍

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
James 2:14-17

Love Mercy

Mercy triumphs over judgment.
James 2:13

Be merciful, just as your father is merciful.
Luke 6:36

"Repentance is disarming, whereas attacks produce counterattacks."
-Kingdom Ethics, David P. Gushee & Glen H. Stassen

Walk Humbly

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:3-4

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Jesus.
Galatians 3:28

"Most of our brethren showed love and loyalty in not sparing themselves while helping one another, tending to the sick with no thought of danger and gladly departing this life with them after becoming infected with their disease. Many who nursed others to health died themselves. The best of our own brothers lost their lives in this way – some presbyters, deacons, and laymen – a form of death based on strong faith and piety that seems in every way to equal martyrdom. They would also take up the bodies of the saints, close their eyes, shut their mouths, and carry them on their shoulders. They would embrace them, wash and dress them in burial cloths, and soon receive the same services themselves."
-Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria

"A major way the church transforms society is by being a model, a pioneer, of what it means to live in love, justice, inclusiveness, servanthood, forgiveness- and confessing its own need for forgiveness."
-Kingdom Ethics, David P. Gushee & Glen H. Stassen

"The church as pioneer is there with the rest of society, participating in the change that is sought rather than standing aloof on the sidelines or pointing fingers from the bleachers."
-Kingdom Ethics, David P. Gushee & Glen H. Stassen

When we do justice we make God known.
When we love mercy we make God known.
When we walk humbly we make God known.
When we live in the way of Jesus we make God known.

Action Steps

1. Prayerfully reflect on one way you have received God’s mercy in your life. Pray that he would fill you afresh with his mercy each today. 
2. Find an opportunity this week to put someone else’s interests before your own.
   • Choose to lay down your rights to something you think you deserve 
   • Choose to let go and forgive rather than taking offense or retaliating 
   • Choose to speak up for the rights of someone else even at a cost to yourself