"Salt"

“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 by men.” Matt. 5:13

Growing up in a Hispanic household I learned a great deal about cooking. My mother was and is an amazing cook, as many of you could probably relate. One of her favorite dishes was arroz con pollo and everyone who ate it would comment on what an amazing cook she was. I remember when I was a kid extended family members would say “I will do this work for you, if you promise to make some arroz con pollo. Thanksgiving is always that biggest holiday for us with all the food and the days of preparation that went into the turkey and other dishes. The end result was always delicious food, and very full people.

The bible tells me that “I am the salt of the earth”. Have you ever wondered what exactly that means? Well here is my interpretation. In my years of serving the Lord I remember when I first realized that I really didn’t know God. I knew a lot about Him but I didn’t have a relationship with Him. When I accepted Him as my savior and started to get to know him better I was excited and shared my faith with as many people as I could. Everyone I encountered knew that I had a relationship with a loving God. I wore shirts that proclaimed it, played music that reinforced it, and was willing to yell it from the mountain tops. God touched my life and I liked sharing it. I am sure that at times I probably came across like someone who just put a spoonful of salt in their mouths. Yes, a bit overbearing, but in those zealous years God did so much in my life. I remember so many people telling me that I acted like an evangelist because I was able to talk to any person that I came in contact with. That statement was always used as a word of encouragement, but at times older Christians would say that my zealous attitude was just because I was new in the faith. I really never understood what they meant until later on in my life.

What I have begun to learn and understand is not that those believers didn’t love Jesus, but they had become weary and tired with life. The trials both inside and outside of the church had slowly eroded away at their zeal for God and the lost. The saltiness was no longer there, and their faith became more of an isolated individual faith. The end result is we as the church became cliques, the “us four and no more” became our motto. If you didn’t fit our mold you were not accepted into the church family. Still God never changed His heart. He still desires to see the very best in us. He longs to renew the heart to reach the lost that is still buried deep inside of all of us. We just need to remember that this relationship is more about Him and less about the business of the church.

Twenty years later I find myself asking, am I still the “salt of the earth”? Have I allowed the business of everyday to erode away at remembering what God has done to transform my life. Have I forgotten where I use to be, and where I am right now. When I remember what I am been save from it brings freedom and not condemnation. As I continue to recall the miracles that God has performed in my life it only causes me to want to reach more people with the love of God. If we have lost the saltiness, let’s remember what God has done, and let’s allow that saltiness to return. This culture is crying out for us, we need to influence them more than ever before. Let’s return to what God has intended for us and let’s see this world turned right side up for Him.