I was reading in Matthew and reached Matthew 5 where Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount. While I have read this passage many times, this time, in particular, I could not get away from verse 13, “you are the salt of the earth.” Now, if I’m being fully transparent, when I think about salt, I immediately think “yum, chips and salsa.” While I love some salty chips, I am pretty sure that is not what Jesus was trying to get us to think.
We know salt has several functions. First, salt makes things taste good… my personal favorite. Salt adds flavor. Salt preserves things. I think back to when Jesus shared this sermon; there weren’t deep freezers and refrigerators to keep the meat cold. Salt was important to preserve food. Salt also makes you thirsty. If I’m going to eat a bowl of salty popcorn, you can bet I’m going to have a cold coke nearby. Salt creates thirst.
In understanding these three things, and thinking back to the verse from the sermon on the mount, “you are the salt of the earth,” we can understand that salt is who we are, but it is also a picture of our purpose. Because we are followers of Christ, salt is my identity, but salt is also my purpose. We were created to be salt and to stay salty.
We are to add Christ’s flavor to whatever environment He puts us in by showing His kindness, His love, His peace. We are to preserve a Christlike culture, a Christlike heart, in a decaying world. We are to preserve His goodness until He returns by fighting against sin, opposing corruption and injustice. And, we can cause others to thirst after the God that lives within us. We can live in a way that makes others interested in the love, peace, and joy that comes from knowing Jesus. When people see the difference in our lives, they see a reflection of the source of that difference, Jesus.
We have been created to love God, to love His word, and to worship. But, we have also been created to radically impact our homes and our communities as the salt of the earth. May our families, friends, and others we encounter taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalms 34:8) as we are salt, and we stay salty.
So Will I 