Devotions: The Flavor of Christ

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

Matthew 5:13 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Anyone who has cooked (or eaten another’s cooking) knows not only the value but also the absolute necessity of salt. Even when making sweet things like candy, salt is necessary. Salt is not the flavor itself, but it helps bring out the flavor whatever that may be. Salt is also a good preservative, causing food to last longer than it would otherwise. But in order to be of most benefit, salt must be broken up and separated. Nothing ruins a good meal like a bite full of salt. In the same way, we as Christians are the salt of humanity. We spread the (preserving) Good News of salvation and eternal life. It is necessary for life to have any true meaning or fulfillment. But to do that, we must leave our own comfortable circle of Christians and go into the world. If the only people we encounter are already believers, we miss our full potential. Remember, too much salt at once is repulsive. Unless a person is actively seeking God by coming to church, meeting up with a whole bunch of Christians can be wasted effort. In the same way, throwing too much doctrine at a person who doesn’t know the basics, or being too abrasive in our attitude and approach, can also be a deterrent. In order to be useful we must go out and serve the world, sharing the Good News of salvation. But beware not to become flavorless, for then we will be worse off than if we stayed in a big lump. To lose our flavor is to become like the world, to compromise. The “flavor” of our salt is Christ. We must be Christ to the world, but if we are too much like the world they won’t taste any Christ in us. We will lose our flavor and be useless. We need to be full of the flavor of Jesus, out among the world and share the preserving truth of the Gospel!