I went to the local grocery store. While there I bought a box of salt. It was a brand usually recognized as quality salt. The package looked great. Good design. Noticeable, attractive and appealing. I came home and put it in the pantry. It joined a 1/2 full box sitting there. I thought, “Well, we have plenty of salt. I forgot we already had that much. I thought we were out. There is no shortage of salt here”.
Several days later I fixed some oatmeal for breakfast. When I started to eat I noticed that it didn’t taste right. In fact, it was unappealing. In spite of the fact that plenty of salt was available and close at hand, there was no salt in my oatmeal. It was still in the box. It could not change the taste of my oatmeal. My oatmeal was tasteless and unappealing.
For salt to be effective it must be out of the box and mixed with the oatmeal. In that process the salt loses itself, mixes with the oatmeal and transforms the flavor of the oatmeal.
Sure the box keeps the salt safe, undiluted and concentrated. But it also stops the salt from mixing with its surroundings and in the process changing the flavor of everything around it.
Jesus, in the Sermon on The Mount, told his followers “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth.” Matthew 5:13 The Message.
Believers are to be “salt” for our society. To do that salt must be mixed throughout the culture. It cannot be insulated from the culture. It cannot remain in the box. It must be poured out and mixed thoroughly with the culture. SALT IN THE BOX CAN NOT FULFILL ITS PURPOSE of transforming our culture.
Believers sometimes enjoy staying in their Christian subculture. They attend great churches with wonderful programs for them and their kids. Often the programs and Bible Studies take up all their time. All their friends are Christian-often from the same church. Their kids go to Christian schools. They enjoy going to church. They are totally insulated from the culture God has placed them in. They are salt but they are still in the box. They are not doing what Jesus left them to do/be – being salt–change agents in their culture.
Salt in the box is pretty and easily identified. Salt in the oatmeal loses its identity but changes the oatmeal.
Many churches define their success by how much salt their particular box will hold. (I did). The Monday morning question seems to be “How many were at church Sunday”. If our box gets full we build a bigger box to show how successful and blessed we are. Sometimes we even brag about how big our box is. That is not a bad benchmark. The Bible puts an emphasis on numbers. Numbers represent people. People are important.
I think a more Biblical benchmark would be how many of those we had in the box on Sunday were in the community the rest of the week involved in ministry to the weak, the helpless, the hopeless, the fallen, the least, the outcast.
Our culture needs a little salt.
I am sure Heaven is a wonderful place. No pain. No sadness. No tears. No sickness. No death. Everyone there is good and share the same value system. God The Father was/is there. The Holy Spirit was/is there. Jesus was there.
Jesus voluntarily left. He came to a place where there was pain, sickness, death. He came to a place where people did not share his values. In fact, they opposed His values. He chose to rub elbows with tax collectors (read dishonest politicians), whores, people who would betray him, people who would not admit they knew him, outcast, and a whole lot of people the Bible simply calls “sinners”. He came and endured torture and experienced death. All of that because the world needed SALT AND LIGHT.
He got out of the “BOX” of heaven and became a human. ” The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father’s only Son.“ John 1:14 GNB.
How many of the following do you include in your circle of friends?
People that seldom or never go to church.
People that make $15,000 less than you.
Those who do not speak English at home.
Those who are from a different ethnic or racial background.
Those who are addicts, in recovery or have spent time in jail or prison.
Families of those in jail or prison.
Those in the LGBT community.
Someone who had an abortion.
Those that dress and look much different than you.
Those who receive Public Assistance.
A crooked government official.
A person whose income obviously comes from an illegal source. (Drug dealer, whore, ….)
A homeless person.
A child who does not receive enough nor the right kind of food.
A person most people in our society turn away from for some reason.
Those who are not acceptable in your social group.
__________ Ask the Holy Spirit to fill in the blank.
You may say that your life patterns do not bring you into contact with these kinds of people.
Jesus had to leave heaven to bring us salvation. He made that choice.
If the salt is to salt its culture, it can not remain in the box. Get out of the box. It will take courage and faith. Jesus is already there. Get ready to meet him in a whole new way. Matthew 25:31 – 46
You have to make that choice.