Salt is good
Salt is good.
Luke 14:34
Isn’t it? I love salt. Given the choice, I would rather have a crunchy salty treat over a rich sweet dessert any day. Popcorn is my favorite. I often make a big bowl to share with my husband in the evening if we are watching TV. And I make sure it has plenty of salt (and maybe some nutritional yeast for a cheesy punch of flavor). I don’t really understand why, but salt makes everything taste better! It’s a good thing I don’t have high blood pressure, because I hear that those who do have to lower or cut out salt altogether. I can’t imagine.
There are many practical uses for salt. If you add it to vegetables and let it sit, it turns into a kimchi style fermented food that is good for gut health. I’ve learned you can do this to fruit as well. If you add a pinch to milk it will keep it fresh longer. So, salt enhances and preserves food as well as killing harmful bacteria. Awesome.
But Jesus said that we are the salt of the earth, not the salt of the food. This has often puzzled me. Then I learned that if you add the right proportion of sea salt to water and spray your garden beds or lawn, it acts as a fertilizer! Sea salt contains sodium, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium and trace amounts of many other minerals that are beneficial for plant growth. With the Mediterranean Sea bordering Israel, surely the ancients must have known and used this resource to its fullest.
Thinking about salt as a fertilizer makes much more sense especially in light of the parable of the sower. Jesus explained to His disciples that the good soil represents the hearts of people with good and noble hearts (Luke 8:15). They hear God’s word and lay hold of it in a way that produces fruit. These hearts have been properly fertilized and prepared to receive the gospel. Is this my job as the salt of the earth?
What a challenging and important role I can have in the lives of others. A role I feel I’ve often failed at. I don’t know how to be salt. And in the right proportions. Too much and salt actually kills plants and makes the soil sterile!
“Holy Spirit, thank you that You know how to make me into fertilizer. You know what it means and how to do it. Thank you that I don’t have to figure it out, but just avail myself and depend on You to teach me. Make this truth a growing reality in my life.”
