Salt

It’s been a weird day.  Today is the first day the big kids are in school all day and Amon and I are at home.  The house is way quiet and I hurt my back some how and I’m out.  I’ve never had a back injury, but it is super zero no fun.  Right now Amon is napping and I just finished my quiet time for the day.  Go ahead and pat me right on the back.  Today’s time was good, but I cannot get the scripture I read out of my head from a few days prior.

“You are the salt of the earth…”  “You are the light of the world…” from Matthew 5:13-16

I was recently challenged by a friend who was also challenging herself to really spend time in not just a devotional, but God’s word, so I started making my way through Matthew.  I’m taking it a little at a time and the other day I read in Matthew 5 about “salt and light”.  I’ve read this several times through out my life, but I guess when I asked God to show me something new He decided to oblige.

I feel like I understand the light part, but honestly I never really got the salt part of the scripture.  I’m no Bible scholar, so don’t laugh if you nailed this right away.  I did a little looking around on the inter webs and discovered two main purposes of salt back in the day…#1 for taste and #2 the preserve.  I knew the taste part and that’s what I usually associated with the scripture, but it had never dawned on me they used salt to preserve foods.  I cannot quit this thought lately.  I read more on the ole’ internet and turns out there are about a million articles and blog posts and what not, about exactly what kind of light and salt we should be as Christians in this world…what the exact definition of ‘salt’ we should go by.  It gets a little messy and confusing and people get opinionated.  After reading I just decided to sit with the scripture a little longer and let God do His thing in my heart.

Today I had several phone calls with different people and all of sudden it hit me.  The kind of salt I want to be is the one God uses to help preserve people…their dignity…their love…their stories…their self worth.  I want to encourage and uplift.  I can’t do that on my own because I’m all jacked up and sinful and a mess, but God can use me…His salt…to show people they are worth preserving…to care for, maintain, look after, protect.  I want to get my hands a little dirty.  I want to wear my heart on my sleeve.  I want to venture into what we’re taught to fear.  I want things to get a little risky.  I want to build relationships.  I want God to use me to love people.  And I want to be the salt that helps preserve who they are in Jesus.  I want God to be glorified and raised high.  I want people to know they matter.  And I want to know in my own heart I’m preserved too.  He cares for not only the world, but for me and you as well.  I matter.  You matter.  Our stories matter.  Our hearts matter to Him.  We have something He wants us to give to the world.  We are to be cared for, maintained, looked after, protected.  Preserved.

It’s nice to realize the value we have in Jesus.  It’s nice to feel counted…that we matter and that someone cares for and wants to help preserve our story and our hearts.  I’m praying today God makes me His salt…some how, some way…I want to be His salt to this world.

4 Comments

  1. Stacey harmon-roeber says:

    Thank you for sharing…me too!

  2. Marianne cupples says:

    Very well said! I hope each day of this new school year to be the salt in some precious child’s life!

  3. I think your art is a form of your salt!

  4. You’re very salty, Laura!!!

    Have you signed up for IF: Equip? Getting ready to go through Galatians together!! Starts Monday!

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