Monday: Day 23

Mark 5:13a: “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?”

            I’m so glad Jesus said this! I love salty food! Some people crave chocolate, but chocolate doesn’t do anything for me.


            Give me some good Doritos, or chips and spinach and artichoke dip, or peanuts, or popcorn with Parmesan cheese, or Sushi with Wasabi and plenty of soy sauce and I’m a happy camper! It makes me drool just to think about this summer’s bratwurst and lots and lots of catsup.


            But I also know that I can feel the effects of that salt within about 30 minutes, and I retain water for the whole next day. I know that most of us consume far too much salt in our diets, not only from the salt shaker, but also from any processed food. Luckily I don’t have high blood pressure, nor high cholesterol, and I’m not on a salt restricted diet.


          But consider, for a moment, the, importance of salt in our lives. Like seawater, our bodies contain salt: a tear, a drop of blood, a bead of sweat all have salt. Without salt our hearts would not beat, blood would not flow, and muscles would not work properly. Before birth a baby develops in a salt solution. Accident victims often receive a salt solution in an IV. In Roman times, salt was so precious that it was often used to pay workers. The word “salary” comes from the Latin word for salt. And we know that a person not worth his or her salt is not even worthy of being paid. Salt, in many ways, is an indispensable part of our lives.


            Jesus says in our Gospel for today. “You are the salt of the earth.” He also said, “You are the light of the world.” Those are declarative statements; you are salt, you are light.” This isn’t a question of whether followers of Jesus want to be salt or light; Jesus simply declares that those who believe in him are to be salt and light. And he warns us not to lose our “salt.”


            In a very real sense, those who follow Jesus need to be moral preservatives in a decaying world. We live with the reality of corporate scandals, insufficient funding for schools, moral decay, murder and abduction children, in a culture where competing forces battle to reach into the minds of our children.


          And we, who are children of the most high God, who belong to God, believe in God, and will become the people God created us to be; we are the only moral preservative, the only “Bible”, the only true follower of Jesus that some people around you might ever see.


          And that’s why Jesus says, or declares, you are salt!. We are called to live consistently. We are to be salt in the midst of the decay and oftentimes, the immorality among you. We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

          Here’s the interesting thing: You don’t get to vote on it! Jesus doesn’t say, “If you wouldn’t mind, when you have some spare time, could you be salt? Could you be a moral and faithful preservative in a decaying world?” If you follow Jesus, that’s what you are. You are the salt of the earth.

            Now, just to let you know, I do watch my salt intake.

            But I also love it when I see a “salty Christian.”

Questions to Ponder:

•  Have you been saying I am a child of God…every morning? Has it made a difference in the way you relate to others?
• What do you think of suggesting that we who follow Jesus need to be moral preservatives in a decaying world? How can we be moral preservatives without being moralistic?

Prayer for Today: Dear God, I embrace the fact that I AM your child. Help me life my life knowing that I am created in your image, and help me to seek to do your will and to follow your way. Help me to stand up for what’s right, and to do what is just. In your precious and holy name. Amen.

Think about this:  You are more than the choices you've made; you've been re-made! 

For God SO loved YOU!

And, just so you know, not all video shoots go as planned....the one posted above is Take 2.  That's because on Take 1 the video cam blew over....it's only about 40 seconds, but it's rather humorous...And yeah, just so you know, it blew my Dorito Shell Taco all over the ground, so I had to go inside and buy another one.  Oh, the sacrifices I make for y'all...