Mark 9:50 Be Salty and Shine for the Lord!

Mark 9:50  “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?  Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.” 

Salt is a preservative that in the ancient world was often more valuable than gold.  Many times rather than gold or silver, salt was used as a medium of exchange in commercial transactions.  Many cities in the ancient world were named after the salt deposits in their area.  Therefore, when Jesus is talking about salt, he is talking about something that the people know is very valuable, essential to their existence.  But salt was only valuable to them if it possessed the property of saltiness.  If it had lost its saltiness, it would be worthless because it would not preserve anything.  Salt that lacked saltiness would not make their lives better by ensuring that they would have food to eat.  That kind of salt is only worthy of being discarded, thrown out, dismissed from their lives.  In the Bible, when Jesus speaks of salt, He is comparing the lives of people to how salt works.  In the Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew, Jesus tells his disciples to rejoice when they are persecuted or insulted, when people speak evil against them because of their walk with him.  He says their reward in heaven will be great.  He goes on to say, 

You are the salt of the earth.  But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?  It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.  (Matthew 5:13)  The salt within a Christian, the ability to show forth the love of God in all situations, is the presence of the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit of God makes us conformable to the image of Christ. 

Jesus did not say that we are the salt of the earth because it sounded good to those who were listening to his words.  He was saying to his followers, you must be like salt: preserving the life of God in people wherever you go.  When people taste of your life, they should have a taste of God's interaction with you.  They should taste the Holy Spirit's work in your innermost being.  They should see a transformed human being with a harvest of the fruit of the Spirit coming forth from his or her life.   Believers love people: they are joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled in the midst of life's many different circumstances, even in trials.  The people we know, our families and our friends, should taste of the peace and joy we have IN CHRIST when we interact with them.  They should know our personalities are clothed with goodness and gentleness.  They should understand we are faithful in revealing the words and works of our Lord to everyone, even to the least of these.   We have said this before, and we will remind you of this again: Jesus said, "A new command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."  (John 13:34-35)  If we are salty Christians, we will go about sharing the love of God.  In other words, our mission as ambassadors of Christ's kingdom is to show forth his likeness.  If we fail in this mission, we fail miserably.  As the apostle John wrote, How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!  (1 John 3:1)

God has not transformed us to fail.  He has sent the beloved Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth.  When Jesus prepared his disciples for his crucifixion, He said He must go away so the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, could come and teach them all things.  As believers, we are to listen to the Spirit and to react to people as the Spirit directs.  The Holy Spirit is the essential guide in our lives.  He gives us wisdom and spiritual insights.  Through the resurrection power of the Spirit we are made conformable to the image of Christ.  Paul wrote to the church at Rome, And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.  (Romans 8:11) On the other hand, if we begin living a fleshly life where our choices revolve around ourselves, we will find ourselves falling outside of the Spirit's control, and then we will fail to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit.  We should be alert and sensitive to any activity or situation that focuses our attention on our selfish desires and away from the Lord's desires for us.  When we live for the flesh, we  lose our saltiness.  That kind of living is not concerned with the will of God but with the will of man.  But we are new creatures with new spiritual ears and eyes.  We were called to walk in freedom: It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  (Galatians 5:1)  We have the abiding presence of God within us.  We have the still, small voice of the Spirit constantly speaking to us.  Therefore, let us live by the Spirit, preserving life rather than destroying it.  Let our testimony be so strong that others will want Christ, the only true life.  When Jesus said we were salt, He also said, You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  (Matthew 5:14)  Therefore, let the salt be salty to preserve our testimony before all people, and let our lights shine brightly that people will see and glorify our heavenly Father.  Amen!