Please Pass the Salt 

I have been pretty sick lately.  So much so that I was super late in getting my blog out for the week as I navigated sickness and tried to catch up from getting so far behind in several things.  A cold turned into a bad cold, which turned into a sinus infection which turned into yuck (there’s a point to this – I promise).  Oddly enough, if I had just kept using a saline solution nose spray during the cold it might never had progressed into a sinus infection .  The reason is, the salt in the solution helps fight against ‘the yuck’ from setting in.  Salt is amazing like that.  It not only makes things taste better but has healing, preserving and purifying properties.  As a matter of fact, the Bible talks a lot about salt.  And often times, when it’s talking about salt, it’s talking about you!

Salt used to be one of the most valuable commodities in the world.  That seems strange to us when we consider how commonplace it is for us today.  But in ancient times salt was the key to keeping your food from spoiling, your water from being polluted and your wounds from festering.  Valuable stuff!  So when Jesus refers to those who believe in Him as the ‘Salt of the Earth’ He as talking about all of these qualities.  We are to preserve His testimony in the Earth and not allow it to spoil.  We are to share the purity of His love and faithfulness and are to bring healing to the brokenness around us through His power.  We are invaluable to society when we consider what Jesus was saying about those who trust in Him.  Have you ever considered it in that light?  (Click Here To Read ‘The Illusion of New and Exciting’)

Bobbing and Weaving In the Dead Sea

I have had the privilege of floating in the Dead Sea in Israel.  There is so much salt content in the Dead Sea that nothing can live (thus the name) and most things float (including people) because of the way the salt causes mass to displace.  I read accounts of how in ancient times in the areas near the Dead Sea you could harvest the salt deposits that collected along the rocks.  The outermost part of the salt deposit that was subject to the elements (rain, sun, etc…) lost itʼs flavor and potency but the innermost portion that stayed closest to the rock retained itʼs flavor and was useful for purifying and preserving.  The salt that was around the outer edges of the deposit with no flavor was rendered useful only for being scattered on the floor to help you not slip when trampled on.  The part clinging to the rock kept all its qualities and was extremely useful and valuable.  Is this sounding familiar? (Click Here To Read ‘It’s Worth The Weeds’)

When we ‘cling to The Rock’ and walk in close fellowship with Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit we have so much hope and life to offer to the world around us.  When we distance ourselves from God and stay on the outer edges we become weathered and worn, losing our potency. Ironically enough the Ancient Greeks called the Dead Sea ‘Lake Asphaltites’.  That’s the same root word for our word ‘asphalt.’  When I think of being put on the ground to be trampled on, asphalt makes a lot of sense.  You were made for more.  Don’t settle for being a warning to others to ‘not slip here’ by being reduced to powerless salt scattered on the floor.  Stay close to the rock and be all you were called to be!  (Click Here To Read My Post ‘Mind The Gap’)

From the Bible

“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.” – Matthew 5:13 NIV

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. – Matthew 10:29-31 ESV

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. – I Corinthians 15:10 ESV