Living Significantly as the Salt of the Earth

“You are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13).

Recently I was battling a virus for several weeks.  A neighbor was kind enough to bring me some soup, but when I tasted it, it was missing something – salt.

Salt has at least three purposes.  It brings out the flavor in foods, like my soup.  It preserves, keeping food from spoilage and decay. It purifies and heals. And as Christians, we are called to be salt in the world. 

My life seems very insignificant and limited.  How can I possibly be salt?  But Jesus says I already am.

I can flavor the lives of people around me with encouraging words and God’s love. I can share the hope I have of an eternal body free from decay. I can share the healing God brings to my soul, even through my suffering.

I can sprinkle salt through email, regular mail, Facebook, medical offices, support groups, or individually in person. I can do it through prayer and praise.

In one of Charles Stanley’s devotional booklets, Winn Collier wrote the following:

“I am amazed by the simple lives I encounter – people living in quiet ways, often unhurried and unnoticed, as they seek to devote themselves to the way of Jesus and be loyal to the kingdom of God.  With our zealous addiction to gusto and our fascination with brilliance, we often forget . . . it is ordinary faithfulness – ordinary presence – that makes the deepest impact.”

Yes, I live an ordinary and sometimes very contained life.  But God has given me a sphere of influence, and He created me to be salt in it.  Even in my pain and problems I have purpose – to sprinkle the world with the gift of Jesus – and that’s pretty significant.

Prayer: O Lord, thank you for giving me significance in Your kingdom, and let me not miss the opportunities You give me to flavor my world with the knowledge of You.  Amen.