I am a country girl at heart. I was raised on a farm in North Carolina. We were eating “organic” before “organic” was a thing. As any country girl knows, salt is a staple in a home, you just don’t cook without it. I love how Paul speaks of how our lives need to be “salty” as well, you just can’t live without it.
Colossians 4:5-6 from the NIV reads,
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Pray, pray and pray some more! I don’t think Paul could have made it any clearer that prayer is essential in living this “salty” life. Paul encourages us to do three things through prayer in this scripture:
· Pray with thankfulness and be vigilant (vs. 2)
· Pray for opportunities (vs. 3)
· Pray, that when given opportunities, we share truth, with grace, in a relevant way (vs. 4-6)
If I could read this verse out loud to you, I would read verse 5 and do it emphatically and word it something like this. “Live in such a way that the way you live would cause others to want to live for Christ. Make the most of every moment God gives you!” Your influence is affected by your complete surrender to Christ. Your life should be so consumed with Jesus that when others are in your presence, it’s HIM they see. Paul tells us that our lives should be postured in such a way that we have a word, a Godly response to all those we come in contact with. Being at a loss for words has never been an issue for me. For those of you who know me you are laughing I’m sure. I can usually find something good to say, but this is what I have learned. People don’t need a good, encouraging word from you, they need a “God” word, one that will change their life.
“People don’t need a good, encouraging word from you,
they need a “God” word, one that will change their life.”
What does it mean to live “salty”? Why is “salt” necessary to live an impactful Christian life? How do we live a “salty life”? As I researched the characteristics of salt, I began to see why Paul encouraged us to live “salty”. As we dive into the characteristics of salt and how they relate to our lives, I pray you will allow God to saturate your life and increase your Godly influence more than you could have ever imagined.
In this series we will study five characteristics of salt, one in each post, and how it applies to our lives. I encourage you to study the scriptures we discuss and ask God to speak to you personally as to how you can relate this to your life. So, PASS the SALT PLEASE!
Characteristic #1… Salt Preserves
I grew up on a farm with pigs. So, we always had bacon. It didn’t come out of a package, it came out of the smokehouse. When we cured meat, the meat was placed under a mound of salt for a period of time. We didn’t just spread of little bit of salt on the meat, it was covered in a mound of salt, it was saturated. When the meat was placed in the salt, the salt pulled the moisture out. Things that would spoil the meat had trouble surviving and reproducing without the moisture. So, so good. Without the moisture the detrimental, unwanted things could not survive. What is the “moisture” in your life that needs to be drawn out by “the salt”? What can you identify in your life that is allowing detrimental attitudes, thoughts, actions or relationships, to name a few, to continue to thrive?
Ephesian 4: 21-24 (NIV) says, "21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."
Now that we are children of God we should desire to look different. God designed us, so he loves us, but the things in us that are not pulling us towards being more like him need to be “put off”! In 2 Corinthians 6 verses 16-18, God promises us that He will be our God, He will be with us, He will walk with us. With that promise, He also calls for us to step out and be separate; to look and act different. Chapter 7 verse one continues by saying, Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God (NIV).
God is not asking us to be perfect, but to allow him to work in us to create a heart that is longing to live only for Him. Everything we do should be driven by the desire to draw others to Christ.
“Everything we do should be driven by the desire to draw others to Christ”
We must allow the word of God to saturate us and draw out those things that are hindering us to live our life fully for Christ. The salt was key in preparing the meat to be used in the future. Keeping your life “salty” is key in fulfilling the destiny that God has called you to. The thesaurus lists synonyms for preserve as, defend, protect, keep, save, shield or guard. That’s was God does for us. He saturates us in his word and guides us with the holy spirit to “preserve” us so we can be all he called us to be. He is our defender, our protector, he keeps us, he shields us. Isn’t that good news! The challenge is we must allow him! We must give him full access to every part of our life.
Oh, it took some time for that meat to season and be ready to be removed from the salt, but the result was amazing! Let God amaze you. Let him have full access and draw those things out of your life that are hindering you from being all He called you to be. I can’t wait to see what God is going to do in your life. Don’t limit God, expect the amazing!
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