The Act of Salt.

Almost everyone in modern Christian circles is aware of the biblical ideology of 'being salt.' This idea, outlined in the fifth chapter of Matthew, verses thirteen through sixteen.
    “You are the salt of the earth. But if the 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 underfoot.
¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:13-16) 


Now, salt has been used for hundreds, even thousand of years as a preservation method, before refrigeration. In addition, salt also flavors food, bring a more pleasant, savory taste to even the most bland-tasting of food. But one other use of salt has only occurred to me recently.   Last month, I had the opportunity practically dropped in my lap to go with my youth-group Alive musical festival. 


 Side note: Temperatures were easily in the 80's, if not higher. So water was very important. Remember that. 


 So, if you're sitting in the sun, listening to the top layer of skin on your arms and shoulders sizzle, you're thirsty, right? Right. And if you have a snack-let's say a preztle rod, that is high in sodium, what will you be? 


 Thirstier. 


 So, not only are we to season the earth with God's presence and Gospel, and preserve it until the Second Coming, our purpose as Christians is also to make the world desire God more because of our representation of Him. 


 In other words, to make them thirst for the living water.

"Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

11“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”

13Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:10-14)

   Jesus is the source of living water. And as we've seen before, we as Christians are supposed to be salt. Salt makes you thirsty, so it follows then, that by our actions, we're supposed to be so different, 'salty', that when others see how wholeheartedly we pursue Jesus Christ, they are going to want what we have. The living water. 

 So, we're supposed to make the unsaved thirsty for Jesus. That makes sense. But let's go a step farther with this. Why just the unsaved? If we focused on just evangelism, we would be missing the big picture. We don't convert and then forget. We are supposed to nurture the new Christians as well. And not just 'new' Christians, either. Keep in mind, time does not necessarily indicate Spiritual maturity. I was a Christian for nearly ten years before I finally 'got it', and began to truly know what it means to be set apart.

 Now think about this: Who does salt make thirsty? Everyone. Regardless of how much water you've drunk, when you taste salt, it makes you thirsty. We are called to be salt to the world as a whole, not exclusively those who have never tasted the living water in the first place! We are supposed to be salt to other believers as well! I believe this goes along with what Paul told Timothy in his first epistle.

 "Command and teach these things. 12Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 13Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you." (1 Timothy 4:11-14

 Now, if we were to paraphrase this, adding what we know about salt, it might look something like this.

 "Timothy, command and teach what I am telling you. Be salt. You're not too young to be effective. Set an example, even for the older believers, in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity. Never stop reading, preaching, and teaching. Don't get discouraged just because you're younger than most of your congregation. Be salty and make them all crave the living water. Do not neglect your spiritual gift, which was given to you through prophecy when the elders laid their hands on you."

 The bottom line here is that salt isn't a noun. It's a verb. Ask any third grader and they can tell you that a verb is an action word. In the period of my life where I was walking away from God, the reason I came back is because I was surrounded by salt, people who weren't satisfied by a check-mark. People who knew that a life lived for self is not an effective, God-honoring one. People who were/are so deeply in love with our Savior that it was evident, and contagious. I wanted what they had. They made me thirsty for the Living Water, even though I already knew who God was, when I walked away, I needed to thirst again.

 Salt has many forms. Salt doesn't mean shoving Christianity down the throats of everyone you meet. A lot of times, salt means simply living your life as a pure offering to God, a shining example, as a light in a dark place. Saltiness can be a smile to the shy girl in the corner, giving your spot in the restroom line to a mother with a small child, or giving a homeless guy a sandwich.

 

How will you be salt?