Matthew 5:13 (NIV) 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 underfoot.
II Corinthians 5:16-21 (NIV) 16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
You are the salt of the earth. Salt was used not just to flavor food, but to purify and preserve food. It was important to health, and sometimes people were even paid in salt, thus the base for our word salary. You are the salt of the earth. Jesus says this to a miniscule minority of powerless people living in the first century. Those words were flattering to hear, but really, how could this miniscule minority be of any real influence in a world so large and so resistant to the spirit of Jesus Christ.
Then, three hundred years later everything changed when Constantine, ruler of the Roman Empire, became a Christian and Christianity became the dominant religion of the western world. While that day of dominance is over, the day of being of real influence for Jesus has begun. You are the salt of the earth. It is not about what we have to do. It is about being who we are because of Christ. We have been made into salt by Christ who offers the world forgiveness. In Christ, we are a new creation.
In this time of post-Christian dominance, the world does not feel much need for the influence of Christ. In fact, many fear that influence will again lead to Christian dominance. Those fears come from a lack of trust, the turmoil from a desire to please everybody. When we are worried, when we are filled with inner turmoil, we may not feel a need for God’s forgiveness, and yet that is exactly what we need. As we accept God’s forgiveness, we become salt. We take our forgiven life into our home, our places of work, into the community, and that forgiven life makes a difference.
Receive the salt of forgiveness, receive the forgiveness that brings peace to the soul. Receive the salt of forgiveness that brings real love to the soul and compassion for people in conflict. Receive the salt of forgiveness that brings hope to discouraged hearts.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope October 1, 2000
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell
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