Needs a Little Salt

I’m going to invite you on a journey.  I have decided to put a spin on the age-old question, “What would you ask Jesus if He was right in front of you?”  I think that one has been done enough and though it’s fun to ponder, I thought a more challenging exploration would be to wonder what God might ask you or me. We don’t often think about God asking the questions.  What knowledge might the Creator of All Things need to obtain?  What is hidden from His wisdom?  But Jesus was known for asking questions, and particularly in response to being questioned, so I have committed to going through the Gospels and applying Jesus’ questions to myself.  

I suppose we could start all the way at the Beginning when God asks Adam where he ran off to after eating the fruit, but I felt drawn to exploring the gospels first so that’s where I’m starting today.  The first question I came upon was only five chapters into Matthew at verse 13, “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.”

I can always tell when dinner misses the mark.  My husband gets up and grabs the salt from the cupboard.  I try not to feel deflated when it happens, but it’s a gentle acknowledgement that something is missing.  Salt can turn an entire dish from bland to flavorful.  It draws the flavor out of other seasonings, but it’s easily discerned from all other flavors.  You can tell with one taste if it’s missing, but it never takes much to do the job (unless you’re like my dad…), so when Jesus addressed a mountainside of people who were seeking his wisdom, he used an analogy they would understand.

Salt has a purpose that is almost entirely dependent on its flavor, so much so that if it lost the property of the salty flavor, most of us would have little use for it.  In the next couple of verses, Jesus sets up another analogy regarding light.  “You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”  Like salt, light’s purpose is attached to brightness and without the ability to brighten, it is not really light at all.  Each thing is defined by its purpose.

So Jesus says you are salt and you are light.  Your purpose is to sprinkle flavor into the bland or unsavory.  You can turn a whole dish around.  You are to brighten a darkened room.  You are to bring clarity to things that are hidden.  You are defined by your purpose.  As a Christian, your purpose cannot be separated from your definition.  Your purpose as a Christian is to let the light of Christ shine so that men might see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.  Your purpose is to point others to God.  You are to give them a taste of the Lord.  You invite them to “taste and see that the Lord is good.”  You are the flavor of God.

I saw a Facebook meme the other day that said, “You call yourself a ‘christian’ but Jesus wasn’t a snob who judged people for their imperfections.  You may wanna get out your Bible and check up on that.”  While I didn’t feel all warm and fuzzy reading this and I might have felt my defenses come up, there is merit to this statement.  When labeling ourself “Christian”, we run the risk of being a dish with something obvious missing.  A taste of our actions can cause others to wrinkle their nose and look for a discreet place to dispose of us.  We need to be mindful of that, because as Jesus points out, we are like salt and light; we cannot be defined separate from our purpose and it is easy for others to tell when something is missing.

So Jesus asks, “But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?” When I first read this question I thought it was a rhetorical question.  I’m not a chemist, but it would seem to me that if salt lost its flavor, it is likely it is impossible to restore it.  But this question isn’t for the salt I will use at dinner tonight, but for me, an ongoing sinner who loses her savoriness too often to be called a light in this world.  What then?  How does one return to a purpose she has lost sight of?

A Creator always defines the creation’s purpose.  When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, his intention was to give light.  The light bulb was not invented until it actually gave light.  Our purpose is defined in the life we live for Christ.  We can cease to be useful, like a burned out light bulb, or we can return to our Creator to be corrected and encouraged in His Work.

What areas of my life need to be sprinkled with salt?  Who have I left with a bad taste in their mouth?  Where have I contributed to the darkness rather than the light?  These are the questions Jesus might ask, not because He doesn’t know, but because He needs to bring me to awareness that I don’t always live the flavorful life He has called me to.