Salt of the earth
“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” (Matt. 5:13).
Salt preserves. On the old ships of past centuries, the men often suffered from scurvy because their food at sea was often mostly meat, meat marinated in salt so that is would not decompose during their long, sea-going journeys.
Since salt has that preserving property, it accurately represents the influence that God’s people will have on everyone around them, friends and enemies alike. Grace, the love that seeketh not her own, will perfume the atmosphere surrounding those who know the grace of Christ. It’s a love that turns heads and hearts. It makes people amazed and glorify God, saying, “We never saw it on this fashion.” (Mk. 2:12).
But there are those who profess to represent Jesus, but do not have that love perfuming their presence. Even the simplest child can discern the reason. They don’t have that peace that passes all understanding. Maybe they had it once, but it has either quickly fled or slowly ebbed away. And with its passing, spiritual decay has come and persisted, to some for many decades.
So they trudge on in a round of church functions. Poor people! Many suffer greatly by their supposed godliness—decades of Christless, loveless religion! Many do no better in the fruits of the Spirit that are the natural outgrowth of that precious relationship with Jesus than the Pharisees of old. Many walk in darkness as did Mother Teresa for 50 years of “faithful” humanistic service. She died without a personal knowledge of heaven’s approval of her, not for all her work for the poor of India, but just because God loved her. She didn’t have the Bible; how could she know Jesus’ thoughts toward her, thoughts of peace and not of evil? Her organization will pay a heavy price in judgment for the pain they caused His precious daughter.
But that same organization is in many other places beside Roman Catholicism. It finds its way into every known religion and denomination, including my own. It is religion without Jesus and His love and grace and His law. Particularly evil is religion that professes His name, but conspicuously leaves Him out of the picture.
Thus those who don’t know Jesus and trust in Him are like salt that has lost its savor—its preserving power and its ability to give flavor. Is your personal religion tasteless? Does it make others spit at you or use some other more civil method to make you go away?
Maybe your salt has lost its savor.
Jesus told three parables in sequence: of a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. The coin didn’t know enough to realize that it was lost. The sheep knew it was lost, but was dumbfounded as to how to get back to the shepherd. The lost son knew both that it was lost and how to go home. Yet they were all sought after and eventually found.
If we have lost what knowledge we had of God’s love, we can be assured that God is already working to restore that knowledge of bygone days. He anxiously waits for just the right moment when our guard is down to reveal Himself to us again, commissioning angels, working His providences, with His Holy Spirit doing It’s ever continuous work of reconciliation.
Yet there remains one thing upon which all the work of heaven hinges. We must act. We must admit to our irresponsibility toward such a precious pearl of great price, the loss of a grace we once owned, so generously given. We must muster all the energy of our soul and cast out that despised and cursed old imitation of personal religion. We must vomit that abominable and filthy self-sufficiency, and with perfect hatred hate that good-for-nothing religious pride, openly trampelling it under foot.
And that’s not all. Then we must go back to Him who gave the command to cast out the old, and find the thing that is better in Him in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge and grace. If we search, we will find Him, if we do so with all our energy. It won’t be easy, but the rediscovery of His grace will be well worth the effort.
Out with the old! In with the new!
“And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’” (Lk. 5:39). Christ’s word, immediately, stands out. We may not experience immediate blessing from Jesus, but that is not because He doesn’t send the blessing. It’s our inability to comprehend His love that keeps us from trusting Him immediately and from receiving the grace He has sent through His chosen means. And, of course, without trusting Him we cannot have the peace we so much desire.
Nevertheless, let us throw out the old, tasteless, dead salt. Let us spew it out of our mouths! And go to Jesus for the fresh and brand new. And everyone around us will thank us for it, and they will thank the Lord also.
“He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.” (Ps. 40:3).
“And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” (Is. 60:3).
Salt preserves. On the old ships of past centuries, the men often suffered from scurvy because their food at sea was often mostly meat, meat marinated in salt so that is would not decompose during their long, sea-going journeys.
Since salt has that preserving property, it accurately represents the influence that God’s people will have on everyone around them, friends and enemies alike. Grace, the love that seeketh not her own, will perfume the atmosphere surrounding those who know the grace of Christ. It’s a love that turns heads and hearts. It makes people amazed and glorify God, saying, “We never saw it on this fashion.” (Mk. 2:12).
But there are those who profess to represent Jesus, but do not have that love perfuming their presence. Even the simplest child can discern the reason. They don’t have that peace that passes all understanding. Maybe they had it once, but it has either quickly fled or slowly ebbed away. And with its passing, spiritual decay has come and persisted, to some for many decades.
So they trudge on in a round of church functions. Poor people! Many suffer greatly by their supposed godliness—decades of Christless, loveless religion! Many do no better in the fruits of the Spirit that are the natural outgrowth of that precious relationship with Jesus than the Pharisees of old. Many walk in darkness as did Mother Teresa for 50 years of “faithful” humanistic service. She died without a personal knowledge of heaven’s approval of her, not for all her work for the poor of India, but just because God loved her. She didn’t have the Bible; how could she know Jesus’ thoughts toward her, thoughts of peace and not of evil? Her organization will pay a heavy price in judgment for the pain they caused His precious daughter.
But that same organization is in many other places beside Roman Catholicism. It finds its way into every known religion and denomination, including my own. It is religion without Jesus and His love and grace and His law. Particularly evil is religion that professes His name, but conspicuously leaves Him out of the picture.
Thus those who don’t know Jesus and trust in Him are like salt that has lost its savor—its preserving power and its ability to give flavor. Is your personal religion tasteless? Does it make others spit at you or use some other more civil method to make you go away?
Maybe your salt has lost its savor.
Jesus told three parables in sequence: of a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. The coin didn’t know enough to realize that it was lost. The sheep knew it was lost, but was dumbfounded as to how to get back to the shepherd. The lost son knew both that it was lost and how to go home. Yet they were all sought after and eventually found.
If we have lost what knowledge we had of God’s love, we can be assured that God is already working to restore that knowledge of bygone days. He anxiously waits for just the right moment when our guard is down to reveal Himself to us again, commissioning angels, working His providences, with His Holy Spirit doing It’s ever continuous work of reconciliation.
Yet there remains one thing upon which all the work of heaven hinges. We must act. We must admit to our irresponsibility toward such a precious pearl of great price, the loss of a grace we once owned, so generously given. We must muster all the energy of our soul and cast out that despised and cursed old imitation of personal religion. We must vomit that abominable and filthy self-sufficiency, and with perfect hatred hate that good-for-nothing religious pride, openly trampelling it under foot.
And that’s not all. Then we must go back to Him who gave the command to cast out the old, and find the thing that is better in Him in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge and grace. If we search, we will find Him, if we do so with all our energy. It won’t be easy, but the rediscovery of His grace will be well worth the effort.
Out with the old! In with the new!
“And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’” (Lk. 5:39). Christ’s word, immediately, stands out. We may not experience immediate blessing from Jesus, but that is not because He doesn’t send the blessing. It’s our inability to comprehend His love that keeps us from trusting Him immediately and from receiving the grace He has sent through His chosen means. And, of course, without trusting Him we cannot have the peace we so much desire.
Nevertheless, let us throw out the old, tasteless, dead salt. Let us spew it out of our mouths! And go to Jesus for the fresh and brand new. And everyone around us will thank us for it, and they will thank the Lord also.
“He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.” (Ps. 40:3).
“And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” (Is. 60:3).
posted by David | 6:53 AM
1 Comments:
How I wish so many people could visit David's page on this blog and read this article. I think we in Africa who grew up hunters undestand the value of salt better than any other out there. I remember when my grand one day went hunting in forest and we got two deers, we kept the meat fresh with a lot of salt. I love this illustration when Christ used it, without salt all the meat would go bad with worms in it. I no longer like meats but I love the illustration. Its strong then to be called the salt of the earth.
I sadly remember days when my saltness lost its savor when I chose to leave the path of the truth.
Such words of courage and love brought me back home. I wish many at least read this one articles. God's Grace is still in abbundance to re-fill our salt.
Thanks again David.
Daniel Nsubuga
Post a Comment
<< Home