Salt of the Earth

Why did Jesus compare us to plain old salt ("You are the salt of the earth" Matthew 5:13)? Well, not that long ago in history people used to be paid in salt because it was so valuable. It purifies, preserves, adds flavor and people crave it. The same thing is true of the Christian who brings the word of God to others. But Christians are not to gather in one spot and stay only with each other. We are to go out and let our light shine and our salt mingle among everyone.

But Jesus also said that if you lose your saltiness you are no longer useful. The rest of His quote from Matthew 5:13 is "But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled on by men." We all can be less salty at times and some of us can run out of salt - so what are we supposed to do? As the Ugandan preacher I heard in Iraq said - you go back to the Word and get re-salted. We must always renew our reliance on Jesus whose strength is what we need to do the job He has commanded us to do - be the salt of the earth.



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