Living a Salty Life
As I was growing up I was accustomed to good, flavorful food. Since my dad was a chef he taught me the value of good cooking for my family. My two sons also enjoy cooking, in fact, one wants to join Giada’s (Food Network) family!
As we continue our study of the Sermon on the Mount we find Jesus using the metaphor of salt, a food enhancer, to declare ways we can influence our world.
“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. (Matthew 5:13 NLT)
Jesus is giving believers a warning: stay salty. What exactly did He mean?
Consider these natural attributes of salt:
• Salt is purifying, even it’s color is pure white
• Salt brings out pungency and is used as a flavor enhancer or seasoning
• Salt has penetrating, preservative power
• Salt is used as an antiseptic that cleanses and delays decay and deterioration
• Salt is invisible when dissolved but you taste it’s presence
• Salt has healing property (2 Kings 2:19-22)
Since Jesus declared us to be the salt of the earth and remain salty it’s necessary to consider the spiritual attributes of salt.
• Spiritual salt allows you to live your life in purity, flee temptation, and maintain a pure heart.
• You influence your world with the salty boldness, the pungency, of the Holy Spirit. Your life lived in Christ will be a seasoning, a flavor enhancer to others.
• When you allow the Holy Spirit to penetrate every area of your life He will preserve, guard, and protect you on every rocky path you walk; if you’ll let Him.
• If there are areas in your life that seem to be breaking down or disintegrating, the salt of the Holy Spirit will cleanse you and bring forth new life cells.
• Since salt is invisible the only way you can know that God is working in you is by your changed heart and attitudes causing new responses. When we are salted our words reflect grace and peace (Col. 4:6) toward others.
• The healing that we need is brought about by salting our life with self-sacrifice and humility. There is no other way.
The gospel of Mark includes more about salt for us to consider. God actually established a Covenant of Salt with His people as described in Lev. 2:13 and Num. 18:19. It’s a foreshadow of the offering we give to God: ourselves. He is serious about salting our lives and living in His peace and wholeness.
For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another. (Mark 9:49, 50 KJV)
Let’s live our lives today as a salty-sacrifice to God. It’s the higher life; it’s kingdom living.
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