Tuesday: The Whole Recipe
“ ‘You are the salt of the earth’ ” (Matthew 5:13, NIV).
In this passage, Jesus is calling His followers to be “salt,” which is a transforming agent. The church is a “saltshaker,” which contains the “salt of the earth.” With what or whom should we, this “salt,” mix? Only with ourselves, or with ingredients different from us?
Image © Rolf Jansson from GoodSalt.com
You can better understand the answer to this question if you fill one loaf pan with only salt and another loaf pan with bread that has salt as one of its ingredients. In the first pan, salt is the whole recipe; it would hardly be tasty, much less edible. In the second pan, salt is part of the recipe and is mixed with ingredients different from itself. And, as such, it transforms a loaf of bread from bland to delicious. Salt does more good when it mixes with elements unlike itself. The same is true of Christians. This won’t happen if we stay comfortably in the church “saltshaker.”
Thus, there’s a point here we shouldn’t miss. We can, in every which way, be moral in that we don’t smoke or drink or carouse or gamble or engage in crime. All that is important. But the question isn’t just what we don’t do. Rather, it is What do we do?That is, what do we do to help our community and those who are in need?
Read Matthew 5:13 again, concentrating on the rest of the verse. How can the salt lose its savor?
“But if the salt has lost its savor; if there is only a profession of godliness, without the love of Christ, there is no power for good. The life can exert no saving influence upon the world.” – Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 439.
Go back to the recipe symbol. As we saw, if all we have is salt, it is no good. In fact, too much salt in the diet can be toxic. Salt has to be mixed with what is different from it. Thus, if we are just like the world, we won’t make a difference in it. We will have nothing to offer. The salt becomes good for nothing. And what does Jesus say happens to it then?
However, permeated with the savor of the love of Christ, we will desire to become “insiders” with the “outsiders,” mixing with others in order to be a transforming agent, to be something that will make a positive difference in their lives and, by extension, leading others to what really matters in life: salvation in Jesus.
| Read Deuteronomy 12:30, Deut. 31:20, Isaiah 2:8. What danger do these texts warn about, and how can we be careful not to fall into that trap? |
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Salt added to food in right proportion makes the food tasty. If we proclaim and administer the word correctly, we will win many souls to Christ. Our character must be exemplary and admirable as we are supposed to be the light of the world around us.
Are we not without danger from exposure to the many pit falls that we come in contact with on a daily basis? It was mentioned that we are not concerned with what we don't do that will save us. It is what we are told too do. Jesus tells us in Matt22:37-40.
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.
It is worth understanding a little bit of the culture in Jesus time because this story has more to it than meets the eye. In Jesus time, bakers lined the floor of their ovens with slabs of salt rock. During the baking process salt would infuse from the heated rocks into the bread (Remember most bread in those days was flat bread). Obviously after some time, all the salt would be leached out of the rock and would no longer flavour the bread. When that happened the floor of the oven was taken out and thrown into the street to become part of the pavement. The oven was then relined with fresh salt rock. Apparently this technique is still used in some eastern countries.
So when Jesus told this story, he was not just making something up. He was using an illustration from every day life familiar to his hearers.
This morning God is reminding us of how important it is that we as the salt of the earth should make a difference in the lives of those with whom we come into contact . Our role as God's children is to be in the world but not of the world. In the world we would be like Jesus .Everywhere he went he was doing good. Yet he was never influenced by the evil around him. Lord help us truly to be the salt of the earth.
We have the spiritual condiment that will give taste to meals that are bland and unappetizing. By promoting this particular salt product(Christian lifestyle in it's fullness), people will become aware of the ingredient that is so necessary they once tasteless lives, into lives that are now appetizing(reason, purpose and promoting the love of God)in turn this will have a multiplicity effect, as the spiritual salt is given, and people add it to mixing bowl (mind), A spiritual pandemic will be the result.
But to keep it and not offer it to those who need it will result in the offender being worse in flavor than the persons who the salt should have been offered to.
Very interesting.
Something I also found while researching this subject:
In Jesus day, the upper room,(that so many dwellings had) had floors composed of wood which had a special mix of plaster laid over them. Ordinary plaster was to soft of a material so they would add salt to make it hard enough to withstand the wear and tear experienced by a floor. It also, however, rendered the mineral impure and unable to fulfill its role as a seasoning agent. In such an irreversible state, it was then only good to be walked on.
Christians, like salt in its pure form, need to live a pure life (found only through Jesus and His strength) so we can maximize our ability to "flavor" or bless the earth through good works.
Not that the works will save, but show what Jesus has done for me and possibly bring others to Him.
This is my prayer... Others will always see Jesus in me...
From Jesus words, Christians will not maintain purity by isolating themselves from the world, but rather will be useful for the master when they mix with other 'ingredients. It is a lesson to us that Christ expects us to mingle with the world but not to depend on our own 'flavor' but that of Christ Jesus.
When studying Matthew 5:13 it's important to note that 8 parables are mentioned in Matt 5:3 - 12.
Matthew 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth...." : To understand the meaning of the metaphor of salt, we need to appreciate the multi-functions of salt.
It is clear to me that as Christ was addressing His disciples He used the metaphor in the meaning of flavour. The salt metaphor carries with it the idea of value. Salt gives food flavour and good taste to food.
We are called by our Lord to assist those around us the beauty and joy of serving Jesus Christ. Christ expects of us to communicate to a suffocating and dying world divine truth. The Lord did not say we are the sugar of the earth and therefore we are not to sugarcoat His Word. He said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." Therefore He does not want us to sugarcoat His commandments, without being judgemental. We cannot compromise on sin.
We need to love our fellow human beings enough to be honest with them even if truth may hurt their feelings. It's crystal clear that we can only execute our mission effectively if we are involved with the community in which we live. We cannot insulate ourselves from the world but we need to penetrate the earth with the Word of God.
Thank you Maurice Ashton for this side line story. I like this type of thing a lot because it helps me more, put Jesus Christ into my world reality, and edification.
Because of health messages and relationship with heavy use of salt with food and high blood pressure I have not used salt in my cooking for many years. I am now used to the natural flovours of food without salt. But as I understand it the bible says, make sure you use salt when you make bread. See Leviticus 2:13 'Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings.' God knows what is best for us I use salt now with any grain food I cook for meals. Godbless today, A Stolz.
The sub heading of Matt5:13-16 in my Bible is titled "Believers salt and light". Two components that Jesus used so the thousands that Jesus was preaching too, would know from their life experiences, the reason for the illustrations. Some current applications are certainly germane also. Jesus knew from a practical stand point that one reason for salt to lose its savor would be if through exposure to rain, NACL would separate into sodium and chlorine elements and no longer become a compound, salt. The source of salt was most likely through evaporation. The Dead Sea was a major source of salt for thousands of years. My chemistry has evaporated also, so accuracy may be off a little.
Paul, I suggest that the "salt of the earth" which Jesus refers to, is not evaporated sea salt; but a kind of salt that exists in 'veins' in the earth. It is this kind of salt that is most in danger of losing it's savor... and if it DOES lose its savor, then it cannot be 'repaired'. It needs to be discarded, and a completely new batch needs to be brought in. To me the spiritual implications of this are quite striking.
Dear brethren, this is a very intersting lesson for us.
We need to mix with the worldly people and we become delicious for them by showing them good character. As the salt is disolved in the food to make it delicious the same way if we have Jesus in our hearts ( Character ), we can inspire them and the change their mindset ( from darkness to light. Our Saviour gave us this example to help us understand that I and you are the salt of the world;for our exixtense giving life in light means to be mixed with worldly people.
Jesus used the salt to show the power his believers have, accampanied by Jesus we can transform this world and make it better by proclaiming his mercy towards the world.Even though we have have that commission we should not seat down and relax, we need to work for the enemy is always awake.
Remember the purpose of salt is to protect the deterioration,giving deliousness.
God expect us to protect our world and be delicious for them as well
We can achieve these by showing God's love and spreading the gospel towards our family members,friends,neighbours,coworkers etc......
Our existense in our families, villages, where we study or our work place is purposefully for peaple around to be saved and protected through us. That is our commission.
Let God's power and blessings be with us in this everning time
Please give me a creative idea in todays lessons 6 Sabbath school as i will lead.
Check out our Teacher Resources page. We have two or three posts each week that should help. (They are not all published yet.)
Would like the recipe for the Roast Pumpkin & Sweet potato Soup. The kindness for the neighbor is what we all should be looking out for.
Yes, even the "atmosphere" around us will be sweet.