Be Salty – October 8, 2021

[Jesus said] “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”
Mark 9:50

Be Salty

Salt is an extremely useful substance. Today, we mainly use salt to season our food. But in the years before refrigeration, people also used salt to preserve food. Salt draws water out of food, preventing the growth of bacteria that can spoil food.

It’s hard to imagine salt losing its chemical properties. But if that were possible, it would make what normally is a very useful substance into a useless one. If salt no longer can season your food, and if it loses its ability to prevent food from spoiling, what good is it? You may as well just throw it away!

Jesus once said to his followers, “You are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13). His message was that those who believe in him help preserve the world from “spoiling.” Our world is filled with sinners, all of whom by nature care only for themselves. Sinners on their own are willing to do all sorts of things, including things that harm others, if they think that in the end it will benefit them. Those who trust in Jesus provide a preservative against that. Because of their faith in Jesus, they are eager to serve God by serving those who are around them.

But what if believers, the salt of the earth, no longer live their faith? What if they start living just like everyone else instead of serving God by serving those who are around them? Then they’re not good for much, are they? They’re just like salt that has lost its saltiness.

That’s why Jesus encourages us, “Have salt among yourselves.” Jesus wants all who trust in him to be “salty” people. And when we trust in Jesus as our Savior, that is exactly what we are. We are the salt that God uses to preserve this world. The faith that God has worked in our hearts leads us to love Jesus, who sacrificed himself to pay for all our sins. And that love for Jesus overflows into our love for others, which leads us to serve them and be at peace with each other.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, keep me always close to you that I may be salt in this world. Amen.