Good Uses of Salt

Reading: Mark 9

"'Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.'" Mark 9:50

Evaluation:

Jesus used salt to illustrate three qualities that should be found in his people: (1) We should remember God's faithfulness, just as salt when used with a sacrifice recalled God's covenant with his people (Lev 2:13). (2) We should make a difference in the "flavor" of the world we live in, just as salt changes meat's flavor (see Matt 5:13). (3) We should counteract the moral decay in society, just as salt preserves food from decay. When we lose this desire to "salt" the earth with the love and message of God, we become useless to him. (from Life Application Study Bible Copyright)

Application:

In order to remember God's faithfulness I have to first experience it. That means that I have to walk with Him and live beyond what is comfortable and controllable. It means that I have to learn His truth and His ways and walk in them daily. It means that I must push myself to the edge of my faith and leap. It means that I must strive to not allow the struggles of life to drag me to a place that is not healthy and strong.

The flavor that God wants me to leave on the world around me is love. Love for Him first and then love for others. Love for Him means that I place His desires above all else in my life. Love for others means that I endure whatever is necessary to point people towards the truth. Love for Him means that I lay down my life for Him. Love for others means that I place their needs above mine.

Countering the moral decay in society means first that I live my life separate from that decay for I can not lead someone away from something I celebrate myself. It means that I must be connected to the lost world around me in a manner that allows them to see the fruit of God in my life. It means that the beauty of Christ radiates from within me in manner that is stronger than the beauty that radiates from the world.

Prayer:

Father these are three incredibly great uses of salt. Salt, when used properly is a great benefit. When used improperly, however; salt can be quite painful. The stinging of salt in the eyes or an open wound is no fun experience and provides zero benefit. I fear that our reputation as the Body of Christ is more of being painful than of being a benefit.

I pray today that I live my life in a manner that reveals to the world the blandness of a life without you. Take me deep into the truth of Your faithfulness, produce a desirable flavor in the fruit of my life, and enable me to use Your working in my life to counter the moral decay in the world around me.