Thu 09Apr09 Matthew 5: 13 NKJV
You are the salt of the earth . . .
As young Christian students back in the 70s, we were often reminded by our seniors in the Christian Fellowship, and occasionally by preachers in Church on Sundays, to endeavour to bring flavour to the world around us. We were to live our lives as salt of the earth. We pondered over how to be "tasty" Christians among our school-mates, in our predominantly non-Christian asian traditional families and in our neighbourhoods. Salt was invariably linked to flavour.
Last year, when preparing a sermon that required me to talk about OT sacrifices, my attention was caught by another, perhaps more fundamental, dimension of salt:
" . . . every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavour, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another." Mark 9:49, 50
Salt is unchanging. In chemistry, we say that it is a highly stable ionic compound. It does not decompose easily. Salt remains as salt, through boiling and frying, in water and in sauce, under baking and roasting. It stays the same under all circumstances, for a long, long time. In other words, salt has high fidelity. In Old testament sacrifices, salt symbolises God's unchanging covenant with his people.
"All the heave offerings of the holy things . . .I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; it is a covenant of salt forever . . ." Numbers 18: 19
"Should you not know that the LORD God Of Israel gave the dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons, by a covenant of salt?" 2Chronicles 13:5
So, it is not so much the flavour of salt but rather the fidelity or the faithfulness of salt that we should be concerned about when we remember the Lord's teaching. Like hi-fi salt, we should not LOSE our flavour. We remain as salt, even when cooked or boiled, and stay the same under all circumstances. In our Christian living, our words should bear testimony to our unchanging character, particularly when we are called upon to answer criticism from unbelievers:
"Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one." Colossians 4:6
Dearly beloved brothers and sisters, let us remain unchanging and unchangeable, as salt of the earth. Let us be Christians of high fidelity.
