You are the salt of the earth!... You are the light of the world! A city that is built on a hill cannot be hidden. people do not light a lamp and put it under a basket; they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house.

(Matthew 5:13-15)

Let us begin with
a crashing understatement.

Let us say:

things are not well with the world.

In fact, we could say

with even greater accuracy;

things are less well with our world

than they have been in recent times.

There is drug abuse,

racial tension,

increased crime and

a whole array of

less-than-comfortable situations.

In the face of these

gross and noxious facts

we must be persuaded

that we

have something to offer

in alleviation.

We

can somehow ease

the griefs that beset our world.

We

have some answers and solutions

that derive from

the teaching of Christ.

In other words

we must be aware

that we are not

so much part of the difficulty

as we are part of

God's creative solution to it.