Salty
“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
Of all the flavors of good stuff in this world, my favorite
is salt. I’m not much on chocolate,
cake, ice cream, cookies, or any of that stuff.
But give me a little bowl of kosher salt, and I’m like a cow finding a
salt lick in a field! I’ll sit there and enjoy it for hours! Yes, I know it’s not good for me. My doctor tells me every time I see him. But salt….mmm!
Salt is a remarkable thing.
It’s a mineral, created when the earth was created. It can be found not only in sea water, but in
layers under the surface of the earth.
It has even been found in meteors that have fallen to earth, and on
Mars.
Salt is mined in one of three ways. Shaft mining, much like mining coal, creates
caverns through the earth to the salt, and then it is picked and placed in
carts that haul it out. This is how rock
salt is mined.
Solution mining uses wells erected over salt beds (deposits
of salt forced up out of the earth by tectonic pressure) and water is injected
to dissolve the salt. Then the salt solution, or brine, is pumped out and taken
to a plant for evaporation. When the solution evaporates, the salt is left
behind. It is then dried and an anti-caking agent is added to keep it free
flowing. Most table salt is produced this way.
Salt is also harvested through solar evaporation from
seawater or salt lakes. Wind and the sun evaporate the water from shallow
pools, leaving the salt behind. It is usually harvested once a year when the
salt reaches a specific thickness. After harvest, the salt is washed, drained,
cleaned and refined. This is the purest way to harvest salt, often resulting in
nearly 100 percent sodium chloride, which is why this salt connoisseur will
tell you sea salt tastes better.
Once purified, salt has to be kept in a sealed container or
the elements around it will reduce its flavor.
If you’ve ever used a salt shaker at a beachside restaurant, you’ll find
that it basically has no flavor at all.
You can swallow it by the spoonful and barely taste it.
Jesus compares Christians to salt. In Matthew 5:13 he said “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.” Salt has two basic purposes. It provides flavor, and creates thirst.
We are to provide a flavor of Christ to all
that is around us. Whether it be our
workplace, our home, the ball game, the mall, a discussion between friends, or
the atmosphere of a hospital room, we are to be the flavoring of Jesus
Christ.
We are to also create thirst for Him. Our lives should be lived in such a way as to
cause others to want what we have – to be thirsty for the relationship we have
with Christ. Have you ever been hungry,
but didn’t know what you wanted to eat? In
this same way, those looking for Christ don’t always know that He is what they
want. When they meet us, they should see
the joy, the love, and the blessings He gives shine through, and desire that relationship
with Him.
But just like salt needs to be tightly
guarded once it’s purified to keep its flavor, we also have to be on
guard. Sin – the very element from which
we were taken - will creep into our relationship with Christ, and cause us to
go stale. Stale salt is good for nothing. Jesus said it is to be thrown out, cast
aside, trampled back into the soil.
There’s a lot of hard work involved in
getting a teaspoon of salt out of the ground or sea water. And there was a lot of hard work for Christ
to purify us as well. His sacrifice
should not be in vain. Be the salt you
were purified to be! Be bold in flavor!
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