Life

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

You are the salt of the earth. But if 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 by men. Matthew 5:13
Jesus used salt to illustrate three qualities that should be found in His people: 1) We should remember God's faithfulness, just as salt when used with a sacrifice recalled God's covenant with His people 2) We should make a difference in the 'flavor' of the world we live in, just as salt changes meat's flavor 3) We should counteract the moral decay in society, just as salt preserves food from decay. When we lose this desire to 'salt' the earth with the love and message of God, we become useless to Him and to His Kingdom.
For salt to be effective, it must get out of its container and into the world of hurting, dying, suffering, sinning people. There is no impact without contact, and yet, after knowing the Lord the average Christian has little or no significant evangelical relationships with non-Christians. Often conversion opens up a whole new group of relationships with other Christians and the new Christian moves slowly away from the non-Christian, unsaved associate. Frequently, the unsaved are viewed as enemies rather than victims of the Enemy. The Christian begins to feel he has nothing in common with the non-Christian. Frankly, we have everything in common with the unsaved: we have mortgages, car payments, food to buy, kids to feed, a lawn to mow, interests in sports and hobbies, Indeed we have life in common, and with our dedication to evangelizing the Word of God will can have His saving Grace in common. It is well to remember that Jesus was called a 'friend of sinners.'