Sometimes there is more to what Jesus said than we take in at first glance.

Matt 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth… 

That has always made sense to me as before the days of refrigeration salt was used as a preservative. Salt is aseptic (free from contamination caused by bacteria, viruses or other microorganisms). It can’t change anything but it can hold off rot and decay. But when you take a deeper look into this most common of household products, the fact emerges that salt is really a miracle. Go back to your chemistry days and you will remember that salt is a combination of Sodium (Na) and Chloride (Cl)… this brings back some old memories of the day Organic Chemistry determined for me that Veterinary Medicine was not my future. 

Now, if you were to pour some hydrochloric acid on your hand it would burn the flesh away in 30 seconds while you suffer in agony. Were you to drink it, you would die in a matter of minutes. But, add sodium hydroxide to hydrochloric acid and you get salt, a substance that is essential to life itself. And the same thing is behind Jesus’ statement that we are the salt of the earth. When God pours His grace into the hydrochloric acid of our life the result is also a miracle. We become a new creation in the world that is spreading the gospel that is essential to “new life.”

The word “earth” in the Greek is ge, which refers to the earth as distinct from heaven. It also suggests soil and conveys the idea of the world’s materialism. Jesus viewed people as the earth and His bride as the salt of the earth. We live in a corrupt and rotting world, for which we are to be an arresting force, just like salt is to food. We are to be the medium through which heaven exerts its influence on the earth; the people. Or put another way, we are to live as a heavenly people in an earthly environment. Like salt adds a tang and flavor to food, we are to add a godly influence in an attractive way. That’s why Jesus followed up His statement with…

 … but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

The obvious meaning does not refer to “losing our salvation.” Rather it refers to losing our testimony and influence in the lost world in which we find ourselves. If there was ever a day when the earth needed Christians to keep their testimony and influence it is today, the day of x-rated movies on broadcast TV and pornography on the Internet.

Our old life plus God’s grace instantly turns us into His agent(s) for holding decay at bay. Like salt, we cannot change corruption into incorruption, but we can prevent corruption from spreading. The question is, are we actively “salting” the earth with the gospel that we have been given? Are we, like salt, being aseptic  by sharing our testimony to an infected world, or have we lost our flavor?

Think about that and next week we will take a look at salt’s partner.