Have Salt Among Yourselves (Huh?)

Mark 9-50 imageThe YouTruth in Mark 9:50

“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

According to Jesus, you are the salt of the earth. Salt seems like an insignificant thing, to be occasionally sprinkled on food. In Jesus’ time salt was used in two important ways. In this context, Jesus’ illustration is not insignificant, but powerful and meaningful.

Before food could be refrigerated (meat particularly), salt was used to cure it and keep it from going bad. While it certainly contributed to its taste, as it does today, its primary function was to prevent decay. Carrying the illustration forward to today, Jesus wants to prevent the decay of your relationship with Him and with others. He does this amazingly by being both the means and the end. If you continually pursue a strong relationship with Him, He will be the “saltiness” that you can then apply to your relationships with others. When you are at peace with Jesus, you can them be at peace with others.

The second way that salt was used in Jesus’ time illustrates the opposite condition of relationships—fractured and hurting. After salt had been used up and could not fulfill its original function any longer, it was tossed out as a covering for roadways, much like gravel might be used today. If you allow your relationship with Jesus to falter, it becomes like “unsalty” salt and is only good for tossing onto the ground, and your relationships with others will falter along with it. Jesus does not want this for you!

So be salty today! Carry the “salty” peace of Jesus into all of your relationships.