Salt
Salt…Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.”
In His first message to the people, Jesus makes the statement in Matthew 5:13 that “you are the salt of the Earth.” Salt is used as a preservative for foods, and it is also used as a flavor additive. Jesus is telling the Jewish people that they were meant to be the savory spice in the world. They were supposed to be the people that the world looked to for preservation and flavor in the Kingdom of God.
Jesus then makes the statement about salt and the fact that salt can become tasteless. Why would He say that we are the salt of the earth, only to suggest that salt can become tasteless and worthless and should be thrown out? Why would He ask the question, “How can it be made salty again?” if that was an impossibility? Jesus does not ask a question that He does not know the answer.
Salt is a chemical compound that is very porous. When it sits for a long time, it will begin to take on surrounding odors, absorb these particles into the pores of the salt molecule, and eventually will become less salty until it has no usefulness. Once the salt’s pores get filled up with these surrounding substances, it is less effective, less ‘salty,’ and no longer usable.
Although it is possible for salt to regain its saltiness, it is a bit of a process. You have to take the salt through a process of exposing it to heat and boiling it in water until the water evaporates completely. Repeating that cycle multiple times will eventually remove the impurities from the salt and make it ‘salty’ again.
So what was Jesus trying to tell us?
We all have things in our lives. We come into contact with the world on a daily basis, and I can assure you that some of the ways of the world have been absorbed by your heart and mind. We all have beliefs that are rooted in the mindset of this world. We live in a society where the lines of truth have been blurred and the idea that you can believe your “own truth” are prevalent. The idea that we are all supposed to, and have the right to, ‘be happy’ are everywhere.
Salt is made up of two elements combined to form Sodium Chloride. There is no other way to make salt. You can’t combine two different elements and call it salt. It won’t taste the same, and in some cases, the combinations could be deadly. Jesus called us salt, which means we have a purpose. Just like salt is made from two elements, the Holy Spirit operated under two elements, Grace and Truth.
We are supposed to be the flavor/seasoning of the world. Unfortunately, we will come into contact with the world, and if we sit too long in the world, we will start to absorb the ways of the world, and the ‘seasoning’ of the Kingdom that is in us (Grace andTruth) will become diluted and less effective. Therefore, we should allow the Holy Spirit to influence us daily more than the world. The fire of the Holy Spirit in our lives will take us through that ‘boiling/heating’ process so that our impurities will decrease. It is never a one-and-done process, but the repeated process of the Holy Spirit’s fire will remove the impurities in my life that creep in and find a way to diminish my effectiveness for the Kingdom. I pray that you continue to allow the Holy Spirit access to that place in you to turn up the heat on your heart and boil out the ungodly ways of thinking.
ACTIVATION:
Prayer - Father, You are the great restorer of my soul. You are my strong tower of deliverance in whom I take refuge. I no longer wish to take refuge in the world or depend on the world. I know the ways of the world will render me less effective for the Kingdom. Lord, I want to live free from the influence of this world and want to only be influenced by your Holy Spirit. I am helpless to change, and it is only through the purification process that You bring that I will be set free from the things that the world wants me to absorb. I put my life in Your hands and am grateful that You always provide for my every need; physically, emotionally and spiritually.
In His first message to the people, Jesus makes the statement in Matthew 5:13 that “you are the salt of the Earth.” Salt is used as a preservative for foods, and it is also used as a flavor additive. Jesus is telling the Jewish people that they were meant to be the savory spice in the world. They were supposed to be the people that the world looked to for preservation and flavor in the Kingdom of God.
Jesus then makes the statement about salt and the fact that salt can become tasteless. Why would He say that we are the salt of the earth, only to suggest that salt can become tasteless and worthless and should be thrown out? Why would He ask the question, “How can it be made salty again?” if that was an impossibility? Jesus does not ask a question that He does not know the answer.
Salt is a chemical compound that is very porous. When it sits for a long time, it will begin to take on surrounding odors, absorb these particles into the pores of the salt molecule, and eventually will become less salty until it has no usefulness. Once the salt’s pores get filled up with these surrounding substances, it is less effective, less ‘salty,’ and no longer usable.
Although it is possible for salt to regain its saltiness, it is a bit of a process. You have to take the salt through a process of exposing it to heat and boiling it in water until the water evaporates completely. Repeating that cycle multiple times will eventually remove the impurities from the salt and make it ‘salty’ again.
So what was Jesus trying to tell us?
We all have things in our lives. We come into contact with the world on a daily basis, and I can assure you that some of the ways of the world have been absorbed by your heart and mind. We all have beliefs that are rooted in the mindset of this world. We live in a society where the lines of truth have been blurred and the idea that you can believe your “own truth” are prevalent. The idea that we are all supposed to, and have the right to, ‘be happy’ are everywhere.
Salt is made up of two elements combined to form Sodium Chloride. There is no other way to make salt. You can’t combine two different elements and call it salt. It won’t taste the same, and in some cases, the combinations could be deadly. Jesus called us salt, which means we have a purpose. Just like salt is made from two elements, the Holy Spirit operated under two elements, Grace and Truth.
We are supposed to be the flavor/seasoning of the world. Unfortunately, we will come into contact with the world, and if we sit too long in the world, we will start to absorb the ways of the world, and the ‘seasoning’ of the Kingdom that is in us (Grace andTruth) will become diluted and less effective. Therefore, we should allow the Holy Spirit to influence us daily more than the world. The fire of the Holy Spirit in our lives will take us through that ‘boiling/heating’ process so that our impurities will decrease. It is never a one-and-done process, but the repeated process of the Holy Spirit’s fire will remove the impurities in my life that creep in and find a way to diminish my effectiveness for the Kingdom. I pray that you continue to allow the Holy Spirit access to that place in you to turn up the heat on your heart and boil out the ungodly ways of thinking.
ACTIVATION:
- Identify one area of your life where you recognize the world has influenced your heart or mindset.
- Next, take that area and simply repent. Tell the Lord that you want to have His mindset and ask Him for it. Determine that you will live according to the Kingdom of God.
- Invite the Holy Spirit to burn away the impurities that have accumulated in your life through the influence of the world.
- Ask God to restore your influence and help you to represent the flavor/aroma of the Kingdom to the world around you.
Prayer - Father, You are the great restorer of my soul. You are my strong tower of deliverance in whom I take refuge. I no longer wish to take refuge in the world or depend on the world. I know the ways of the world will render me less effective for the Kingdom. Lord, I want to live free from the influence of this world and want to only be influenced by your Holy Spirit. I am helpless to change, and it is only through the purification process that You bring that I will be set free from the things that the world wants me to absorb. I put my life in Your hands and am grateful that You always provide for my every need; physically, emotionally and spiritually.
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