Salt • Devotion 6

Sweetness
Jill Osmon

I found myself staring at the thawed beef ready to make tacos for the kids I was watching. Thinking to myself, where is the taco seasoning packet? So I searched for it everywhere in the kitchen and could not find it. I texted my friend, whose kids I was staying with, and asked her where the taco seasoning packet was. Much to my surprise, she did not have any. She just flavored her ground beef with spices that she threw in. I knew nothing of this way! I was a taco seasoning packet household (Who seasons their own or who uses the packets?), but thankfully I figured it out! Flavoring is super important when it comes to taste and cooking. If I got the flavoring wrong, no one would want to eat it and question my cooking going forward. Why do I tell you this silly story?

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus is talking about salt and its flavoring. He likens us to the salt of the earth, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.” What do we use salt for? We know salt preserves food but more commonly it flavors food. It is really interesting what Jesus is talking about here. He is telling the crowd, you are salting the earth, and depending on what type of salt you are, will determine your effectiveness in taking the Gospel to the rest of the world.

The NIH (National Institute of Health) describes the taste of salt as “elicit sourness, sweetness, and bitterness under certain situations.” The NIH has quite simply written a sermon in its definition of the taste of salt. As believers, we are going to elicit a reaction when we live out our faith and when we share the Gospel. The question is what reaction will we elicit? Is our life reflecting of Christ that we elicit a sweetness toward the Gospel? Or as Matthew says, have we lost our flavor and we elicit a bitterness in those with who we come into contact?

We have to strive to keep the joy of our salvation so that our salt is one of sweetness. God has given us so much. Therefore, as we go out into the world, we need to be a reflection of that goodness. Be intentional and aggressive in keeping bitterness and strife out of your life because it will steal the sweet flavor of Jesus. Remember 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” Let us remain a sweet salt that proclaims His excellency!