Christians, Where Is Our Salt? Part 2

In part 1 (read here), I talked about how Jesus relates saltiness in believers to being at peace with each other. The purpose of our saltiness is to be salt (and light) to a world that needs Jesus. It’s not about us; it’s about us treating each other with love and respect so the world sees something different in us, and when they ask we can tell them about our Jesus.

The question of how we remain salty begs another question: what (or Who) is the source of our saltiness? Our value?

We all know it’s Jesus. God. The Holy Spirit who comes to live in us when we are born again; when we receive the gift of salvation through faith (Romans 10:9-10).
 
We are changed in an instant, filled with power and grace to live life God’s way. Learning God’s way is a journey that takes a lifetime. And obedience to what He says, whether or not we understand it, is the key.
 
Jesus says in John 14 that we show our love to God by obeying His teaching.
 
The more we choose to obey, the more we’ll know God. The more we know Him, the more we love Him. Then the more we love Him, the more we’ll want to obey. Somehow through all of this, when we’re willing, He changes us from the inside out. 

I know – I am a life that has been changed by the Power of Jesus Christ.

Without Him I was (and can still be!) mean, selfish, and empty. With Him I have peace and joy that I cannot describe, and a sense of belonging and worth that I pursued in many wrong ways and never found until Jesus.

Nothing I tried on my own, and I mean nothing, filled the void I felt in my soul.

I once thought that “anything goes as long as no one gets hurt” was true. I was wrong. I was badly wounded by living life outside God’s boundaries, and by the sins of others. It has taken years for God to heal those hurts, and He is still changing and healing me as I write this. Our changing never stops, Praise God!

I also believed lies about myself and about God.

For example, I didn’t believe that hell existed – how could a loving God send anyone to hell? As I pursued God and grew in my relationship with Him, I learned that He doesn’t send anyone there, He longs for everyone to live with Him in heaven for eternity. But we all have free will, and can therefore choose to receive salvation through Jesus Christ…or not. If not, well, the Bible is clear about the consequences of sin.

While I still don’t understand every word of the Bible, I have learned that God’s ways are true through choosing to obey even when I don’t understand.

He created us; He is our Father. Makes sense that He’d know how to raise us and guide us in living a life full of purpose and fulfillment.

I’ve learned that I don’t have, and never will have, perfect understanding of God. I just have to trust Him with all I don’t understand, obey, and move on.

You may be asking, what does all this have to do with saltiness?

Stay tuned for Part 3…