Table Salt.

Kosher Salt.

Pink Himalayan salt.

Sea Salt.

Celtic Grey Sea Salt.

Fleur De Sel

Flake Salt

Red Hawaiian Salt

… and the list goes on.

Cooking resources identify as many as 12 different types of salt and explain that each one has a specific purpose and should be used accordingly. That puts a lot of pressure on us amateur cooks! Who has time to master 12 salts when you’re just trying to think of what to have for dinner every night? Not this girl.

Back in Jesus’ day, there was only one kind of salt: salt.

Everyone knows and loves the way that salt makes things taste. Imagine pretzels or fresh tomatoes without salt. With its ability to flavor bland foods, preserve meats and fish, and make a really good foot scrub, salt is the hero of any kitchen.

Jesus tapped into people’s love and appreciation for this wonderful commodity in the 5th chapter in Matthew when he pays us the highest compliment by calling us salt:

Matthew 5 (The Message)

Salt and Light

¹³ “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.

Jesus is a little salty with his opening salvo. “If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness?” There is so much truth in that one little sentence. We all know people who claim to follow Christ, but you would never know it by their actions, words, deeds, and social media posts. People like that have lost their usefulness for the kingdom. Think about your own behavior. Are you bringing out the God-flavors of this earth or are you repelling people from a life of discipleship? Hate speech, anger, prejudice, name-calling, berating those who don’t think like you … none of this entices the non-believer to come to the table for a taste.

^14-16 “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

Once I was driving my car to church and got passed by a woman in a Lexus who “flipped me off” as she sped past me. I noticed the ichthus on the back of her trunk as she peeled into a church parking lot about three blocks before my church. I wonder how many people on the road would follow her to Jesus. Not me.

How many would follow you?

Completing God’s Law

^17-18 “Don’t suppose for a minute that I have come to demolish the Scriptures—either God’s Law or the Prophets. I’m not here to demolish but to complete. I am going to put it all together, pull it all together in a vast panorama. God’s Law is more real and lasting than the stars in the sky and the ground at your feet. Long after stars burn out and earth wears out, God’s Law will be alive and working.

^19-20 “Trivialize even the smallest item in God’s Law and you will only have trivialized yourself. But take it seriously, show the way for others, and you will find honor in the kingdom. Unless you do far better than the Pharisees in the matters of right living, you won’t know the first thing about entering the kingdom.

Jesus states his mission clearly. He came to complete the Law and the Prophecy that speaks of God’s unconditional love for all people. We are invited to honor that Law, live right, be a shining example of generosity, open ourselves to others, and invite them to sit with us at Christ’s table, where the salt is freely flowing.

What kind of invitation are you making with your life? You are the salt and the light. Go flavor your life in such a way that Jesus shines through every moment.

Salt and Light by Michelle Robertson