Who Do You Think You Are - Salt?

Matthew 5:13 (AMP)
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost its taste (purpose), how can it be made salty? It is no longer good for anything, but to be thrown out and walked on by people [when the walkways are wet and slippery].

One member of our family always adds extra salt to his food, no matter how much is already in it. As far as he is concerned you can't have too much salt. (Well, you can - in certain quantities it's fatal!) It's hard to imagine life without salt because its use is not only in food but in hundreds of manufactured products including paper, soap and glass. It permeates much of life.

When Jesus' first hearers heard him say they were 'salt' it would have multiple associations - yes, of flavouring and preserving food, but also for healing wounds, or as a symbol for loyalty and friendship; and, most deeply, as an expensive sacrificial offering from Old Testament times representing purity and God's presence. So if salt suddenly lost its quality of' saltiness' it would be good for nothing! This world of mine, says Jesus, needs you to be salt.

'Salt' in our generation. What does that mean in practice? Let's extend the image a little and see our church like a salt cellar - full of salt but not much use until it's scattered around. It won't do its work until then. In practice, it looks like you and me going about our daily business and wherever we are, we work to stop things from going rotten (preserving);  - we stand up for right, we challenge dishonesty and unfairness we make things better by our presence - more fun, more kind, more honest, more just, more decent; we draw people closer to Jesus by our distinctive values and genuine love (flavour); we help heal the wounds of the broken people we meet; we consciously take Jesus with us into every situation. We make a daily offering of all we are and have to God (sacrifice).

Prayer — Holy Spirit, please make me 'salty.'