SueAnn Porter

Part of yesterday’s blog was “vanished into thin air.” I will try again!

SALT

Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth.” – Matt. 5:13

These days, we are warned that too much salt is a bad thing; it leads to high blood pressure and other ills.

Salt was vitally important before refrigeration was invented and, salt was used as a preservative. It was rubbed deeply and heavily into meats to preserve them for months. Dennis F. Kinlaw, in his book, This day with the Master, tells a story about when he was a boy. His mother would have him rub salt into the pieces of the pork after the pig had been slaughtered. A few months later, they went to the smokehouse to choose a piece of meat for dinner. His mother sliced into it, and the smell was gross, and it was infested with maggots. His mother explained, “Not enough salt, son.”

Jesus said to His disciples, “Salt is good and beneficial, but if salt loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?  Have salt within yourselves, and be at peace with each other.” – Mark 9:50

Even in the Old Testament there are places where salt is to be given along with the grain offerings. One example is Leviticus 2:12-14.

And every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt; you shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt.

— Leviticus 2:12-14

There is one story, though, where salt is a bad thing. In Genesis 19 is the story of the Angels who took Lot, Lot’s wife and daughters out of Sodom and Gomorrah. The angels told Lot and his family to come out of there immediately, and don’t look back. But Lot’s wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt.

A pillar is a support that holds up a structure. Salt is a preservative. She wanted to look back to where her heart was, and she became a monument to the evil that had existed there.

In Luke 17:32 Jesus reminds His disciples, “Remember Lot’s wife!”

“We are called to be the salt of the earth, not the sugar.” – Pastor Stan Key

Related articles

• To Follow Jesus (todaygodisfirst.wordpress.com)
• Pillar of Salt dough… (teenainjerusalem.wordpress.com)
• Who wants to be a milloinaire in Sodom and Gomorrah? (vanguardngr.com)
• 14. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah (12160.info)
• Which way are you facing? (widemargin.wordpress.com)
• The departure from the land – The withdrawal of grace (divineheartofgod.org)