By Pastor Joy
Lately, I have read a few bibliographies, and one that stood out was Chiune Sugihara. He was a Japanese diplomat stationed in Lithuania during World War II. His life had always been marked by loyalty to his country and obedience to orders. But one morning, he faced a choice that would define him forever.
Outside the consulate gates, desperate Jewish families pleaded for help. Sugihara knew that if he followed orders, thousands would perish. He sent telegrams to Tokyo requesting permission to issue transit visas. Each time, the answer was the same: “No. Stop immediately.”
He thought of his wife Yukiko, his three children, his career, and his future. Then he thought of the families outside who had no future if he did nothing. He picked up his pen and began writing visas by hand. For 29 days, he wrote tirelessly—his hands cramped, his vision blurred, his back ached, but he never stopped. Even on the train platform as he was ordered to leave Lithuania, he continued signing visas and throwing them out the window to refugees running alongside.
He had issued between 2,000 and 6,000 visas, saving tens of thousands of lives. When he returned to Japan, he was dismissed from the Foreign Ministry. For 40 years, he lived in obscurity, working ordinary jobs to support his family. He never complained, never sought recognition, and never regretted his choice.
In 1985, Israel’s Yad Vashem honoured him as “Righteous Among the Nations”. When survivors said to him: “I exist because of you. My family exists because of you.” Sugihara humbly replied: “I just did what any decent person would do.”
By 2020, the descendants of those saved by his visas numbered between 40,000 and 100,000. One man’s sacrifice became a lifeline for generations. In the Jerusalem Post, it was reported, “One man’s life can make a difference”
As Christians, we are also called to be different. We are called to be salt of the earth and light of the world
Jesus said in Matthew 5:13–14:
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. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 “Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house.
Salt preserves, heals, and transforms whatever it touches. It is powerful when we see salt transforming veggies or eggs into salted veggies like Kimchi and salted eggs. Salt has medical use as well, it has been used to heal diarrhoea and skin lesion by the Egyptians 2000 years ago. Salt is really powerful and valuable. So, if our lives are like salt, we have the power to influence and impact the lives of others. This is what Jesus desires each Christian to be salt of the earth, so that our lives we can truly made a meaningful impact in the lives of other. In Mark 9:50, Jesus said,”Have salt in yourself”. If salt loses its saltiness, it will be useless. So, if salt refuses to dissolve, to die, it is useless, and it cannot shine as light in this world. To be salt and light, we must be willing to lose ourselves, to sacrifice, to put others before ourselves.
Mark 9:50 “Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
It is important not to become unsalty, otherwise we will be useless.
What does it mean for salt to lose saltiness?
In the OT, in Jeremiah17:5-6, it can help us understand what it means to be salt that lose its saltiness.
Jeremiah 17:5-6 5 Thus says the LORD, “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind And makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the LORD. 6 “For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes, But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, A land of salt without inhabitant.
What happened when one’s heart turned away from God to trust in mankind, and trust in flesh his strength. – he will be like a bush in the desert. In the desert, one is unable to find nourishment and sustenance due to the harsh surroundings, so the person who turns away from God he will be unable to find true fulfilment and abundance in their life; there will be spiritual blindness and he is not able to see when prosperity comes. This spiritual blindness or moral darkness will prevent him to recognize God’s blessings. He will live in the wilderness, a salt land without inhabitants. This symbolizes the lifeless and barren state because of the lack of spiritual nourishment and no God’s presence.
Why salt lost its saltiness? Why Christians lost its saltiness? It is because their hearts have turned away from God, they no longer depend and trust God with all their hearts. They have turned to men and turn to their own wisdom and strength.
So, it is a forewarning to all Christians as well. When we turn away from God and trust in men or trust in our own wisdom, our own strength, it is a curse! Second, we see that it will lead us to spiritual blindness, to spiritual desolation.
To turn away from God is to turn away from the fountain of life, the fountain of living water.
Jer 17:13-14 13 O LORD, the hope of Israel. All who forsake Thee will be put to shame. Those who turn away on earth will be written down, because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even the LORD.
Once we turn away from God, our life will no longer be able to experience God’s blessings. In Him is the fountain of life. He is the source of eternal life. Like king David said, “He is my everything”
Do you have salt in your lives? Is there love in your heart for God? Is that love still burning hot in your hearts? Have you turned away from God? Where is your heart now? Where have you put your trust now?
Salt has lost its taste. The word “taste” can be translated as foolish. If we have lost taste, it also means that we have become foolish. So now we understand why we have become foolish. When we turned away from God, the one who is the fountain of life and choose to trust in men, in ourselves, in the things of this world, are we not foolish? Wisdom is in God, All good gifts come from the Father of lights! (James 1:17)
The sad thing today is that it is easier to find nominal Christians but it is rare to find Christians with exceptional qualities. Now you know why it is so difficult. Many are happy to be saved to have eternal life but no one wants to pay the cost of being obedience to the calling to be salt and light of the world. Everyone wants to preserve himself/herself. How to stand out unless we are willing to make sacrifices. Many today are Christians by name but do not live out the qualities of salt and light. Christians do not shine as they ought to. We cannot make any impact on the non-Christians. Like what Mahatma Gandhi said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. “
Why was Sugihara able to make such a difference? One man can make such a big impact! He could have chosen comfort, career, and security. Instead, he chose compassion. He lived out what Jesus taught—obedience to God above all else- to be salt and earth and light of the world. His life reminds us that true faith is not passive. As James 2:26 says: “Faith without works is dead.”
Living as Salt and Light Today
In our speech, Paul exhorts us in Colossians 4:6, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt.” Our words can heal or destroy. To be salt, we must lay down pride, anger, and selfishness, and speak with grace.
In our actions, faith must be visible in how we live, serve, love. Example in area of forgiveness, it takes self-denial to forgive those who hurt us. In Loving, it takes sacrifice, the willingness to deny oneself to love. Like Sugihara, the willingness to forgo his career, his own family needs, the financial security. The willingness to not give up his pain, cramps when he had to fill and write visas for the many Jewish refugees. Many Christians do not live the life of Christ. Sugihara’s example challenges us to live sacrificially, not nominally.
In our witness- Whether in business, family, or community, our choices testify to whom we trust. Do we compromise for comfort, or stand firm for God?
A Call to Examine Our Hearts
Have we lost our saltiness by turning away from God? Have we hidden our light by choosing self-preservation? Jeremiah 17 warns that those who trust in human strength will live in barren lands of salt without life. But those who trust in God will flourish.
Let us repent where we have strayed, renew our love for God, and live as true children of light. As 1 Peter 2:9 declares:
“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation… that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
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