Salt. If you are like me you love it. I will put salt on just about anything. There is something about salt that just makes things taste better. Long ago, even back to ancient biblical times, salt was a known preservative and had a very high value placed upon it. This seasoning that we hardly think twice about has been a major contributor to wars and feuds throughout history.

It is such a simple thing, but just about any food that we buy at the store contains at least some amount of salt (aka: sodium). So by now you're probably wondering what this has to do with anything. To answer that question, let's take a look at Matthew chapter 5.

Salt is mentioned throughout scripture many more times than I had remembered. Doing a search in my concordance I figured that "salt" would show up in the gospels and probably in a couple of the apostle Paul's writings at most, but it also shows up in the Old Testament. It is in Leviticus, Ezekiel, Deuteronomy, and several others.

I have heard, as I am sure that many of you have, that the message of the parable by Jesus in Mathew chapter 5 was to tell us that we are to be the flavoring in this world. We are the ones who have been given a calling to see that others know Jesus and that we are that flavor, that taste of Jesus that draws them to him. Likewise, looking at the same passage in Mathew we are to be the light of the world. We are to be the ones that shine brightly for all to see in the dark world that we live in.

But what if the idea of salt is much bigger than this. What if the idea of bringing some flavor to the world was just a small part of it? What if Jesus intended these words to mean something greater and far more meaningful? What if?

Let's take a look at target="_blank">Mark 9:42-50. In this passage, Jesus is spelling out, in graphic detail, the importance of making sure that you take any measure necessary to avoid sin. Now obviously he is not suggesting that we go out and maim ourselves because sin is much deeper than our hands or feet or eyes, it is a heart issue. But at the very end of this passage he says; "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other."

Now why on earth does he end this section with this sentence? What does he mean by telling us to have salt in us, and what relation does this have with taking whatever means necessary to avoid and keep sin from our lives?

Here's what I would like us to think about: To have salt in our lives means that we are to have Jesus in our lives, thus the flavor. But more importantly, we are to have an allegiance to Jesus. We are to have a wholehearted commitment to him as disciples and followers. The NIV Study Bible note on this verse states that the distinctive mark of discipleship typified by salt is allegiance to Jesus and the gospel.

So what does allegiance to Christ mean? Does that mean that I say my pledge of allegiance to Christ every day before I go off to school or work just like I did when I was in grade school with the flag? Of course not, but to have an allegiance is to have the mindset of a disciple. To understand allegiance you must also strive for a life of obedience. To be a disciple and to have salt in our lives is to be obedient. We have an understanding of the fact that God's ways are much higher and more perfect than anything that we could cook up on our own. It is the ability to look at my life as not my own but Christ's through me.

We need to get past this idea that we, as Christians, are just different people in this world. We need to add our own flavor, begin to see that we are the true disciples of Christ and that we obey his commands not because we are forced to, but because they are true and righteous and bring a life of freedom and everlasting. We follow because Christ is leading and he is where our hope lies. We are not the leaders and never should have been. God's desire is for us to be filled with a passion for him, so much so that we are obedient to what his word tells us. He wants you to know that the reason he wants our obedience is not because he is on a power trip trying to steal all the fun things in life but that through obedience we could bring flavor to the world like it has never known because the "salt" inside us is the most valuable thing anyone could ever have and the good news is that it is free.