Thursday, November 24, 2005

On Salt - Appropo Thoughts for Thanksgiving Day

This morning I read:

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is not longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by man."

I know four (make that 5) things about salt: 1) it flavors foods, 2) it can preserve foods, 3) it can ruin foods if too much is used, 4) it makes you thirsty, 5) without its saltiness it is nothing but white, grainy stuff that will dissolve and disappear the moment it gets wet.

I think the salt is God's love. Christ's love in me (and you) is the seasoning the world needs to become palatable, the kind of place one can savor and enjoy. Christ's love in me preserves life and love forever. Too much of this good thing - the perversion of it (pushiness, appointing ourselves judge and jury to a hurting world and holier-than-thou thinking) can ruin His love for others. But by truly letting Him love through me, just purely loving, will make the world thirst for more. More of His love, His grace, His mercy, His joy. And salt that is just white, grainy stuff with no taste, no appeal, no purpose - does nothing. It only dissolves and is gone, as if it never existed. There is no flavor, no preservation, nothing is ruined, there is no thirst - nothing - no memory of its existence.

I do not want to be tasteless salt. I want to be shaken up and poured out of God's salt shaker - not the world's. So today, Father, I pray that You would season our lives, our words, our thoughts and our actions with Your love. May this day be enhanced because You shook us out. Preserve this day in our memories. Make us thirsty for more of You. Thank you - for salt. (I included all of you in this prayer because one grain of salt does so much less than many grains. AND I'm thankful that you are a part of my life, even those of you I may not know.)

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