Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”

To the ancient Hebrews, salt was far more than something that sat next to pepper on the table. Salt was part of their covenant with Yahweh and was used in all their sacrifices. Salt represented purification and was used in rituals for that purpose. Salt was a symbol of enduring friendship and loyalty. Also, as in its uses today, salt was a seasoning used to flavor food and as a preservative which prevented things from going bad. When Jesus called us ‘salt’, he was describing the type of influence we were to have on all those in whom we would come in contact. Salt is pure – germs cannot live in it. Likewise, we are to live lives of purity before others. Salt also purifies, which is what we do when we refuse to accept false philosophies, dishonest ways of doing things, and selfish desires. As believers become part of the lives of others, they should add flavor to those lives in the form of excitement, hope, purpose and a growing spiritual interest. As salt preserves, so do we keep society from ‘spoiling’ through our commitment to preserving those things which Christ taught and sharing them with others. Salt is vital to life…and so are we!

Pray: “Lord Jesus, as salt is so important to life and represents the covenant made between our Heavenly Father and his children, help me to never lose my sense of purity, my sense of being the missing ingredient in a bland and tasteless world. Through you I will preserve the way that you have taught me and season the lives of others by not only living it before them but sharing it with them. In your holy and precious name I pray - Amen”