May 23 - Matthew 5:13

May 23
Matthew 5:13

Matthew 5:13 You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It isk then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

The Hebrew word for salt is "melach," thought to be related to kings. The association of salt was with royalty and had great value. Reference to that can be found throughout the Old Testament. In biblical times, salt was used as part of temple offerings and sacrifices, and often used as a valuable form of currency used for trade.

The Dead Sea was a source of salt that people found to be useful for multiple purposes.

• It was also a perservative for food and prevention of decay.
• It was also used for flavoring in food, making food palatable and pleasant to eat.
• It was also a disinfectant used for cleansing and purification.

When Jesus spoke to His disciples that they were the salt of the earth, they knew the value of salt. Jesus was telling them that they were like salt and carried great value to the Kingdom of God. Their lives were to bring purification to the peoples of the earth, preventing spoilage and corruption, bringing the flavor of Christ to the earth as the disinfectant used for cleansing and purification.  As such, Jesus was commissioning His most valued and trusted disciples to go out to be the salt of the earth to the peoples of the world.  They were to tell others that Jesus was the sacrifice Who offered himself up for the corruption upon the earth as they themselves lived in righteousness as Christ lived upon the earth.  Jesus was telling His disciples that they were so important to Him and He was trusting that they would be that salt to be used effectively in the earth to make a difference for Christ. 

Christians are the only "salt in the earth," and are given instruction to keep the world from entire moral corruption. If all salt left the earth, food would rot, cleansing and disinfectant would be gone, and its flavor would be gone. So then, if all Christians, as the salt of the earth, would suddenly disappeared from the earth (as they will in the soon-coming Rapture of the Church), it would be like taking salt away from the earth. The earth would go into corruption and there would be no way to bring back its purification. Christians then have the privilege of displaying themselves as salt to hold back the forces of corruption to make a difference in this world.

What happens if salt has lost its purpose? If it is exposed to the elements - air, rain and water, it becomes worthless - its value is gone, therefore useless for its use. When Christians are exposed to the world around them, they lose their effectiveness as God's salt to the earth - becoming useless for the Kingdom of God.  Salt, when it becomes useless, is then is thrown out, trodden underfoot, mixed in with the dirt of the world. A farmer can't even use that kind of dirt in his soil because no good fruit can come from soil mixed with flavorless, useless salt. 

We can look at Jesus' commission to us in two ways: If we refuse to be the salt of the earth, we too can become downtrodden and of no value to the Kingdom of God.  On the other hand, we can recognize Jesus' value that He has in us in that He is trusting us to be the salt of the earth to make a difference in people's lives. That is an awesome privilege.

So then can you purpose to be the salt in someone else's life today?