salt of the earth
February 1, 2012
First post of 2012! Wow I have not posted in awhile. The new semester has been not too busy in terms of academic work. I have a lot of free days that I'm able to spend reading and dwelling in God's presence. :) It's been a nice change from last semester!
We've heard vs. 34 a lot - "salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?" Often the sermons I've heard on being the salt of the earth has to do with how salt is good because it's useful to preserving things and keeping it from being spoiled. Or how salt is good to be added to food for flavor, and so if salt loses its saltiness, it's useless in that sense. In Mark 9:50, it reminds us that we must have salt in ourselves and be at peace with one another. Both Mark and Matthew point to the use of salt as something that keeps things from spoiling or as a seasoning. In the same way, we must have salt in ourselves to keep ourselves from being corrupted by our deceitful desires, and instead, to have the Holy Spirit of God in our hearts and souls, making us a new creation, keeping us from death, and allowing us to be a blessing to those around us.
I was recently listening to a Bible teacher speak on Luke, and he pointed out that only in Luke is salt pointed out to have a few additional purposes for the Israelites. In vs. 35, it states that if salt loses its saltiness, "it is fit neither for the soil nor the manure pile." The salt that the Israelites used was typically scraped up from the Dead Sea and besides using it as seasoning, they'd also use it as fertilizer and in manure.
As a fertilizer, salt was good for the soil and plants because it is rich in certain minerals. In the same way, we as Christians are to be like fertilizers - helping others to grow in Christ, bringing about fruit both in our own lives and in the lives of others, and having our lives, words, and actions be a nourishment (and not poison) to those around us. The Israelites would also add salt to animal dung so as to slow down the fermentation process until they could use the dung as fertilizer. In this way, the salt served as a sort of disinfectant. In the same way, we as Christians are to be like disinfectants - we are here to point people to Christ, to point them to the light, that they may have atonement through Christ's blood and rid themselves of all impurity that this world finds delight in.
I think we as Christians are pretty good 'seasonings' - being a nice kind of presence of some sort in society and keeping ourselves out of impurities. But how about our role as fertilizers and disinfectants in society? Do we aim to build others up with our words and actions? (Eph 4:29) Do we seek the growth of those around us as well as ourselves? Are we people who pursue after God and are careful about not stumbling our brothers and sisters, but rather encouraging and challenging them forward in their spiritual relationships with God? As I've considered and thought about the role of being a 'disinfectant', I think the most difficult is in having the wisdom to know when to rebuke or call people out. It's not easy approaching people and tactfully telling them some area of their life that they may need to bring before God, and it is something that we often must pray a lot about before doing. But I think for me, I often run from that, and would rather ignore it then go through some confrontation and it is something that I am still growing in and praying through. Whatever the case, I am learning that as a disciple of Christ, I am not just called to being a 'nice', blessed, and obvious presence (light of the world), but as one who promotes purity and God's standards in the people I interact with. While I do not need to force my beliefs on others, I need to live in a way that demonstrates to others the precious blessings and light we have in Christ.
First post of 2012! Wow I have not posted in awhile. The new semester has been not too busy in terms of academic work. I have a lot of free days that I'm able to spend reading and dwelling in God's presence. :) It's been a nice change from last semester!
34“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Luke 14:34-35)
We've heard vs. 34 a lot - "salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?" Often the sermons I've heard on being the salt of the earth has to do with how salt is good because it's useful to preserving things and keeping it from being spoiled. Or how salt is good to be added to food for flavor, and so if salt loses its saltiness, it's useless in that sense. In Mark 9:50, it reminds us that we must have salt in ourselves and be at peace with one another. Both Mark and Matthew point to the use of salt as something that keeps things from spoiling or as a seasoning. In the same way, we must have salt in ourselves to keep ourselves from being corrupted by our deceitful desires, and instead, to have the Holy Spirit of God in our hearts and souls, making us a new creation, keeping us from death, and allowing us to be a blessing to those around us.
I was recently listening to a Bible teacher speak on Luke, and he pointed out that only in Luke is salt pointed out to have a few additional purposes for the Israelites. In vs. 35, it states that if salt loses its saltiness, "it is fit neither for the soil nor the manure pile." The salt that the Israelites used was typically scraped up from the Dead Sea and besides using it as seasoning, they'd also use it as fertilizer and in manure.
As a fertilizer, salt was good for the soil and plants because it is rich in certain minerals. In the same way, we as Christians are to be like fertilizers - helping others to grow in Christ, bringing about fruit both in our own lives and in the lives of others, and having our lives, words, and actions be a nourishment (and not poison) to those around us. The Israelites would also add salt to animal dung so as to slow down the fermentation process until they could use the dung as fertilizer. In this way, the salt served as a sort of disinfectant. In the same way, we as Christians are to be like disinfectants - we are here to point people to Christ, to point them to the light, that they may have atonement through Christ's blood and rid themselves of all impurity that this world finds delight in.
I think we as Christians are pretty good 'seasonings' - being a nice kind of presence of some sort in society and keeping ourselves out of impurities. But how about our role as fertilizers and disinfectants in society? Do we aim to build others up with our words and actions? (Eph 4:29) Do we seek the growth of those around us as well as ourselves? Are we people who pursue after God and are careful about not stumbling our brothers and sisters, but rather encouraging and challenging them forward in their spiritual relationships with God? As I've considered and thought about the role of being a 'disinfectant', I think the most difficult is in having the wisdom to know when to rebuke or call people out. It's not easy approaching people and tactfully telling them some area of their life that they may need to bring before God, and it is something that we often must pray a lot about before doing. But I think for me, I often run from that, and would rather ignore it then go through some confrontation and it is something that I am still growing in and praying through. Whatever the case, I am learning that as a disciple of Christ, I am not just called to being a 'nice', blessed, and obvious presence (light of the world), but as one who promotes purity and God's standards in the people I interact with. While I do not need to force my beliefs on others, I need to live in a way that demonstrates to others the precious blessings and light we have in Christ.
Comments
Post a Comment