You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. Matthew 5:13 NKJV
I love salt! I salt EVERYTHING because salt makes everything taste better.
Salt symbolizes purity and it endures. Besides enhancing flavor, salt has many other remarkable qualities. Unlike today, in ancient times, salt was a rare, precious and valuable commodity. Cities would seek to build around salt mines for that very reason. In some cases, it was used to pay wages. In the Middle East, when two parties entered into an agreement, they would eat salt together in front of witnesses to solidify their relationship. One essential use of salt was to preserve foods such as grain, and especially meat, to keep it from spoiling and rotting. Salt is known to have healing properties as well, and can help with a multitude of ailments.
God told Moses that the salt of the covenant of God shall not be missing from any offerings (Leviticus 2:13). He made an everlasting covenant of salt with the Priests and Levites, to give to them what was set aside from the holy offerings (Num18:19); and to David, dominion over Israel forever, to him and his sons, by covenant of salt (2 Chron 13:5).
Jesus spoke of this kind of covenant in Mark 9:49 when He said that His followers, as living sacrifices to God, must be seasoned with fire and salt. “For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt." And in Romans 12:1, Paul pleads to give your bodies [body, soul, spirit] to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice [seasoned with salt]—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.
When Jesus says, you are the salt of the earth, what does He mean? And how can salt lose its saltiness? Well, I've been pondering these questions since my last post on the Beatitudes, as these are the very next statements that Jesus makes.
Let's start with the covenant of salt. As I see it, it's an everlasting covenant; a covenant made by sacrifice; a sacrifice that is always seasoned with salt. And a sacrifice by its very definition is to give up something of value for something else that is considered of greater value. A sacrifice, especially when offered to God, is not sacrificial if it does not cost something; and furthermore, it must be pure in nature (seasoned with salt)—this kind He will find acceptable.
Jesus is the salt that makes us valuable (a living and holy sacrifice). He purifies us. At the last supper, when He washed His disciple's feet, He said that those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet. In other words, He cleansed us fully; but we still walk in the world, and unfortunately we pick up things along the way. Jesus brings healing; He preserves us from rotting. Without Him, we could never be the salt of the earth. The salt of the earth can penetrate hearts, it can enhance the desire for more than what's seen and cause a thirst that can only be quenched by the Holy Spirit. Jesus uses us to attract to Him a lost and broken world.
So, can salt really lose its saltiness? I wonder if Jesus was asking a rhetorical question? Perhaps salt that loses its saltiness was not real salt to begin with. I imagine, that's when it is good for nothing, thrown out, and trampled underfoot by men. But technically, salt can be diluted, which could possibly cause it to lose some of its flavor. Surely it's not Jesus who is less desirable, it's whatever we've picked up and allowed to get in the way. I've allowed many cares of this world to dilute my saltiness; worry, fear, health issues, insecurities, stress. When my eyes are on me and not Him, salty I am not.
Has your salt lost its flavor? Could it be that you need to focus your eyes on the Rock? And just in case, check your feet, they might be dirty. Oh, and grab that salt shaker, you don't want to miss a moment of what God wants to do through you; after all, you ARE the salt of the earth!
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect" (Romans 12:2 NLT).
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