Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another. Mark 9:50 (ESV)
Have you ever tasted food without salt? Yuck! Being from Southeast Texas, I grew up with plenty of butter and seasoning in my food. It wasn’t until I traveled north to college that I ever tasted food that was cooked completely without salt. I was amazed that veggies that I loved back home did not taste good anymore, so I added table salt.
Then, awhile back I noticed a lot of hype about the type of salt we use in America. I read about how iodized table salt is so much worse for you than sea salt or other natural salts. One of the natural salts really caught my eye. Maybe it is because it is pink, and I am a girl. Suddenly, I was seeing all kinds of uses for pink Himalayan salt.
It has the 84 trace minerals that are in the body, is considered by many to be the purest salt in the world, and has less sodium than table salt and actually lowers blood pressure rather than raising it. And those benefits are gained just by eating it instead of table salt. It can also be used in detoxifying baths. One of the coolest things I learned is that people have turned chunks of this pink salt into lamps that will actually purify the air around it! Crazy!?!
When I read Jesus’ words about salt at the end of Mark 9, I thought about what it means to be salt. Do I want to be salt like table salt that raises people’s blood pressure? No, Jesus specifically says, “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
I want to live like pink Himalayan salt, adding benefits to the lives of others and known for purity.
As I was thinking about how I wanted to draw my journal entry for this chapter, some more of Jesus’ words popped into my head. This time they were recorded in Matthew 5:13-16:
“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. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Salt and Light. Just like a pink Himalayan salt lamp. Purifying its environment. Preserving and improving health and quality of life. Providing light. Pepping up flavor (when eaten, of course!).
I want to be this kind of salt and light. Don’t you?
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10 (ESV)
Jesus came so that we could have abundant life. Life that glows with His light, that peps up the lives of others, brings benefit after benefit, and purifies the environment around it.
Wouldn’t it be cool if all of us were this kind of salt and light, a living demonstration of the abundant life God intends for us?
Action Step: What ways can you be a pink Himalayan salt lamp today? Can we bring Christ’s mercy, forgiveness, joy, and love to those around us, even when they disappoint us? Let’s not lose our saltiness in the drudgery or problems of life! Let’s shine and spread flavor throughout the day…
God, thank You that You have given us Your Word to encourage, challenge, and direct us in our lives. Help us to be salt and light that draws others to you. In Jesus’ name, amen.