SALT OF THE EARTH

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 (Mathew 5:13)

Why did Jesus compare us with salt. Last night as I read through the Gospel, I wondered why? Why not something else? The answer lies in the properties and use of salt. It will need to quick trip to science class.

Salt is used in greater quantities and for more applications than any other mineral. It has more than 14,000 known uses. All animals, humans included require both sodium and chloride for life and life. Since the body cannot manufacture it, they are essential nutrients.

Biologically, blood is saline solution. The sodium component of salt operates in regulating osmotic pressures in the body and helps prevent excessive water loss. The sodium and chloride also pays a major role in the transmission of impulses in nerves.

We can see how salt is required for our life. It is used in many areas of our lives. We cannot do without salt. The most common use of salt is for taste and food without salt has no value at all.

Can that which has no taste to it be eaten without salt? Or is there any flavor in the white of an egg? (Job 6:6)

If the Christian is the seasoning of this world then we are a flavor that the people will enjoy. Another use of salt causes people to become thirsty and when thirsty people drink. The Christian is to have the seasoning salt of God in their everyday life that will cause people to become thirsty for the things of God and have a desire to drink from the well of life. This should be a normal way of life for the Christian.

As a passionate horse rider in my childhood and youth, I often used to hear an old saying, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink". Well is it true? No because you can make a horse drink water.

Whenever we used to go for long hours of practice of Tent Pegging, and Polo normally horses refused to have a drink because they were too tired or their adrenaline had not died out yet. Mostly this happens with young horses. But there is a trick to make them drink, you simply put a tablet of salt in their mouth and after 2 minutes, they are willing to drink the whole tank. See SALT MAGIC!

Similarly, if the Christian does not have properties of salt in them then they cannot make people thirsty around them no one will become thirsty for the living water that will quench their thirst. If the Christian has lost his/her seasoning then they are of no value to the kingdom of God. They have lost their seasoning/saltiness and is only good for being tossed out and trampled under the feet of people.

As one of the properties of salt is to purify, as Christians we must purify ourselves from sins. We must remain thirsty ourselves for our spiritual growth in Jesus Christ.

In Colossians 3:3-4 we read:

“For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”

Here is a very important message to be understood. We DIED to our old ways of living when we received Jesus and our life Is hidden in Him. In verse 4 we are told that a Christian’s life is Jesus! He is our life! We live for Him, in Him, through Him and with Him! He is to be our all in all! Our life is nothing without Him!

Therefore let us become "Salt of this earth" as Jesus asked us to be, purifying ourselves and making people thirsty around us.