A Day-by-day devotional

February 8, 2023

Salt it up

Chronological One Year Bible Reading Plan: Exodus 38-40

Scripture of the Day: Matthew 5:13-16

When the food is bland, we get the salt shaker and sprinkle some on it. And most of the time, it does its magic.

Salt has long been used not only to give food its flavor but also to extend its shelf life. Salt is hence a preservative.

Jesus, in His well-known sermon on the mount, told those present, “You are the salt of the earth.” Salt influences the taste of the food. When it loses its taste, the salt would be useless. If it becomes tasteless, no matter how much of it you put into your food, it wouldn’t influence the taste.

If we truly would follow Jesus, we would want to do as He did. Our actions and words should reflect His own. We should be able to positively influence those we encounter just as salt influences the taste of food. In a similar way, just as salt preserves, we also should make a mark as preservers of truth. When Jesus was here on earth, He only spoke of the truth. Therefore, it is also what we ought to do.

Jesus did not stop at that. Following on this, He said “You are the light of the world.” Just as we do not hide the light when we have lit it up, we should also not prevent our light from being seen. We should allow that light to do its work, which is to engulf the darkness and expose the truth.

Imagine an earth with no salt and no light. We would be subsisting on food that is tasteless, in the dark of the day, and night. That would be quite a very unwanted scenario.

Jesus said we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. We therefore need to ensure that we don’t lose our saltiness and not allow our light to dwindle. We should salt it up and let our light shine.

Reflection: We can only give to others that which we have. In order to be the earth’s salt, we need to remain salty. In order to give light, we need to resist darkness. We can only influence others positively and show them the truth if we ourselves are influenced by the source of truth and light – Jesus.

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for making me salt of the earth and light of the world. Help me not to lose my taste and my light. Help me look to you as the source of my being. Amen.