The Bible uses the word salt as a literary device to help us better understand God's calling. Salt has many properties: it is a preservative, a flavoring, and an agent of change.
Leviticus 2:13, "And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt." Our offerings to God should be seasoned with the salt of His covenant, which means we become the salt of the earth. Living the salt of the earth means we live the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.". It means we are following Jesus.
God asks us to be the salt of the earth to demonstrate His love throughout all of our relationships, 1 Corinthians 10:31, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved." and Colossians 4:6, "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." and Matthew 5:13, "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men." Only when we remain salt can we manifest the savour of His knowledge, 2 Corinthians 2:14-15, "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:" The Gospel is spread because the character of God is seen through our lives marked by honesty, uniqueness, selflessness, integrity, and honor. God is sufficient. We do not need anything else because we know He will provide for all of our needs, Philippians 4:19, "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." and Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.". The key is remembering He is sufficient. We must stop trying to earn our salvation because it is a free gift of God. We just need to accept Jesus' sacrifice, John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.".
Numbers 18:19, "All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the Lord, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord unto thee and to thy seed with thee." The covenant of salt represents the unchanging nature of God, Malachi 3:6, "For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.". He keeps His covenants forever, Isaiah 54:10, "For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.". He wants us to learn to keep our covenants, 2 Kings 17:16, "And they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.". Instead, we abandon the covenant and worship idols, which means our salt has lost its savour. Each generation has its own idols. Today, we worship money, power, sex, drugs, alcohol, and entertainment. But God still offers us His eternal love, Romans 5:8, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
When we turn to God while amid the fires of this life, He always uses our fire experiences to lead us to the best version of ourselves, the person He created us to be, Mark 9:49-50, "For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.". When we have salt in ourselves during our fire experiences, people notice, lives are changed, and we move one step closer to eternity in joy.
Salt can change a bland meal into a joyful eating experience. God created everything to work together for good, Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.". When we understand this, we begin to see how the beauty of variety is a key element. Not all food tastes the same. Not all people look or act the same. Not all plants look or taste the same. Not all animals look the same. There is beauty in diversity. The beauty is not in one of a kind but in gathering all kinds to produce the choices that bring us joy. No two people have ever had the same DNA, fingerprints, eyeprints, etc. The point is God created us all different and that is what is beautiful. Everything is more interesting. There are endless possibilities for our curiosity and enjoyment.
1 Peter 2:9-12, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation."
Be the salt we have been called to be.
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