Still Salty?
Are you still salty? I don't mean this in the common slang way that "salty" can mean today but I mean it in the way that Jesus referred to it. Salt was so important in Jesus's day. Salt preserved food, salt seasoned food that otherwise might have not been very tasty. Salt can intensify sweetness and reduce the bitterness of food. If for some reason your salt couldn't do those things you would throw it out as useless.
Cost of Discipleship
In Luke 14 Jesus asks the disciples to count the cost of their discipleship. He uses a hyperbolic expression in verse 26 and says we must "hate" our family and our own lives to follow Him. He means that there is nothing we must love more than Him. Whatever sacrifices we must make to follow Him we have to be willing to do.
Holy Spirit Living
Our ability to love Him above all others actually comes from the Holy Spirit living in us. Without the Holy Spirit, we can't love Him more than others or more than ourselves. Without the Holy Spirit giving us the strength we need we can't be the salt we are supposed to be. The Holy Spirit functions in us to help us to understand God's word (I Corinthians 2: 10-13), He sanctifies us (Galatians 5: 16-18), He assists us in prayer (Jude 1:20), He regenerates and renews us (Titus 3:5), and He comforts us (2 Corinthians 13:14) among other things.
His Power, Not Ours
The Holy Spirit gives us our saltiness. It is His power and strength that helps us to love God more than ourselves or our family. It is He who makes us "salty". We simply cannot live a Christian life that makes a difference without the Holy Spirit. When our lives are fully surrendered to Jesus, we will live a life that would be impossible without the Holy Spirit.
Salt of the Earth
In Matthew 5:13 Jesus refers to His followers as "salt of the earth". We are to make a difference in this world because if we don't, we are as useless as salt that has lost its flavor. What is it that Christians do that is comparable to salt? As Christians it doesn't take a large number of us to make a difference in the world. Just like salt, the quantity is not the reason for the change in taste, it is the quality of the ingredient.
Our Fruit Makes a Difference
Christians make the world a better place. Our love for others should be noticeable. Our forgiveness of others should be readily seen. The fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) describe the characteristics that should be seen in every Christian. They are "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control". These attributes distinguish us from the world. If we seem to be the same as everyone else perhaps, we have lost our saltiness.
The Cost is Self
Christ asks a question in Luke 14, "Who doesn't count the cost?" Before we say we want to be Jesus's disciple Jesus says we should realize that there will be a cost for us to pay. We may lose friends, we may lose loved ones, we may even be asked to lose our life. But we certainly will be required to give up one thing - ourselves.
No Going Back
Jesus tells us to "take up your cross and follow Him" (Matthew 16:24). The cross was a humiliating and horrific death in Jesus's day. Once you took up your cross there was no going back. For us this means to die to our own selfish desires and surrender everything to God on a daily basis. This is a higher cost than many are willing to pay. Yes, there is a great cost in following Christ but there is a much greater cost when a person chooses not to follow Him.
Not My Will - Yours
In these passages Jesus challenges us to think about what we are about to do before we choose Him. Being a disciple means leaving everything for Him. Being a disciple means showing Christ to the world. All of our wants, all our desires are left at the foot of the Cross. We must be willing to say, as He did when he prayed to His Father, "not my will, but yours be done."(Luke 22:42) in all that we do.
STAY SALTY!
Enjoy the hymn, "You are Salt for the Earth"
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