“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.”
Mark 9:50
I was in the final stages of seasoning my homemade potato salad when frustration set in. The new “Mediterranean Salt Mill” I’d recently purchased was pitiful. The salt had no flavor at all. I kept cranking and tasting, cranking and tasting, until I blurted out, “UGH…this salt is worthless!”
I checked the expiration date – 10/07/13. The salt crystals looked white and fresh. The bottle was attractive and the mill worked perfectly. The problem was the salt inside. No flavor. Somehow it had lost its saltiness. So, in the trash it went.
I’ve never experienced that before. A little while later, as I was ruminating over my disappointing and wasteful salt purchase, I thought of today’s verse:
“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.”
Then God spoke to my heart. The useless salt I bought was a poignant object lesson. Sure, the salt mill came from a respected organic food market and it appeared to be high quality. But it didn’t do what it was supposed to – season my potato salad. Among the thoughts that came to my mind, I was reminded how many of us, as believers in Christ, are just like my salt mill. Our “packaging” (appearance) looks attractive and we are found at respectable places in society, but we have lost our God-given objective as peacemakers. We’ve lost our saltiness – our flavorful contribution as loving neighbors, accepting friends, forgiving family members.
“Oh Lord, help each of us as your children “have salt in ourselves and be at peace with each other” – our family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, even our enemies. Help us to sprinkle grace wherever we go, to whom ever we meet. For you have told us, we are “the salt of the earth.” Help us not to disappoint.”
LIVE God’s Word: Is there someone you sense you ought to make peace with today? Ask God to lead you and then take that salty step of reconciliation.
Fun Family LINKS for memory: Salt is essential not only to life, but to good heath. Here are a few salty tips I found interesting and useful:
- Treat mosquito bites and poison ivy with a saltwater soak. Then apply a poultice of salt mixed with olive oil.
- Prevent mold on cheese by wrapping it in a cloth moistened with saltwater before refrigerating.
- Soak toothbrushes in salt water before your first use; they’ll last longer.
- Add a pinch of salt to milk to keep it fresh longer.
- Sprinkling a little salt in canvas shoes occasionally will take up the moisture and help remove odors. (We are Tom’s Shoes lovers and need this tip at our house!)
- To relieve fatigue, soak relaxed for at least ten minutes in a tub of water into which several handfuls of salt have been placed.
“Put on then,
