Devotion for Sunday, March 24, 2024

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people” (Matthew 5:13).

The unique Greek word here, “tasteless,” is better understood as “useless.”  How?  When salt no longer does what it is supposed to it becomes useless.  Salt was used as a catalyst to evenly burn dung (Israel did not have ready sources of burnable wood.)  Over time and with much heat, the salt is no longer useful as a catalyst.  You are, by grace, a catalyst for Christ, but if you let the scorch of sin burn you intentionally, you will become worthless.

Lord, are You calling me to walk with You and seek to not sin?  Yes, it would seem so.  How can I live into becoming like You if I also sin away like the world does?  Even many pagans would not do that.  But the wicked one tempts those who have heard the Gospel away from You.  The world tells us that what we do does not matter.  But even tempted and tried, we can see that the Holy Spirit must be at the center of our being, always leading the way.

Lord Jesus, You never gave us complex things that we had to figure out.  You spoke in terms that are easily understood but not always easy to do.  We moderns cannot relate to having to worry about burning over fire to cook food.  But help me get the message that You want me to be a catalyst in this world, reflecting Your light so that others may know that You are in me.  Let me be of use to You today.  Amen.