Wednesday, August 9, 2006
Matthew 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men."
NO SALT-SUBSTITUTE WILL SERVE
The Christian life may be mocked and Christians may be hated by many, but, the fact is, it's the influence of believers that keeps this world from becoming so rotten that God would have to cast it out -- like the homemaker throws out rotten food.
Now, the world would prefer us honey, not salt. And so we are tempted not to speak up when people reject and ignore God. But
"if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?"
Salt not salty? That's what happens when Christians tone down their witness to make it more acceptable to the world. If we hedge on what the Bible names sin; if we back off the fact that Jesus is the only Savior of sinners. Christians lose their saltiness by failing to apply the Gospel to their own hearts and lives and by failing to impart it to others.
We lose what makes us Christ's agents in this world when we grow careless about our use of word and sacrament and focus on this world and its daily concerns to the point that what we have in Christ seems of little value or immediate purpose. Then it is even possible to treat God's grace and goodness as something to be ashamed of -- and to finally set it aside altogether in order to be accepted, to "belong" in this unbelieving world.
". . . If the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men."
What does Jesus call good for nothing? Not gross unbelievers, not liars, cheats and adulterers, not criminals and deviants. He says the really worthless are Christians who are saltless salt.
How can we withstand, maintain? By walking with Jesus. By constantly looking to Him. By using Word and Sacrament consistently, regularly, thoughtfully. By making Christ's Word our daily companion. When we by God's grace focus on what Christ has done for us and says to us, then nothing else can be more real, more important or more valuable.
