There is just something about salt! This multipurpose commodity comes in various forms, types, and colors. When used in the correct proportions, the kind used in meal preparation is usually for taste/flavor enhancement. True, food prepared without it can be quite satisfying to the palette, but too much spoils the taste. Over time, ingesting too much contributes to ill health.
So what did Jesus mean when he said to the disciples, “Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?” (Mark 9:49–50 NIV). Certainly Jesus meant no harm toward them.
“Salted” Christians are matured in their faith and should therefore display exemplary lives earning the respect of others. Non-Christians should be eager to emulate us. “Salted” Christians should live peacefully and harmoniously with each other, have unwavering faith, and be kind and caring. Those on the outside should be able to readily say that “they are different” in a good way. When asked, we should proudly proclaim, “Yes, we are disciples of Christ!” not denying our Savior. By our deeds they should know we are Christians.
As “salted” followers of Christ, we are commissioned to be preserved and flavored with God’s grace and mercy; to be sanctified and armed with the word of God, as ambassadors for Christ. The tenets of goodness and upright living should exude from our pores.
When Jesus says, “Have salt among yourselves,” it is a charge to stand out in the crowd; to show love to our brothers and sisters and not be judgmental; to be in this world yet not of the world.
Let us therefore remain flavored in our Christian faith; be salted and preserved with the word of God; and be at peace with each other.
Corresa Whyte-Walters, elder and youth advisor, Grace Moravian Church, Queens, New York