Episode 10
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
Matthew 5:13
People are no longer thirsty for the things of God. Sure, many go to church and even more claim a style of Christianity, but few are desperate for the things of God. Once I had a toothache and determined I would do absolutely anything to make the pain go away. I handed my wife a hammer and asked her to beat the tooth out. I tied a string around the tooth with the other end on a weight and dropped the weight down the stairs. I slammed my head against the wall and so much more. Nothing worked. I was desperate but I was refusing to do the simple. I was refusing to call the dentist. Once I was desperate enough, I made that call. Less than two hours later I had seen the dentist, my pain was gone. He had absorbed the infection and given medication to care for me. I struggled in my own way for hours before calling on the only solution that had any hope.
In the same way there are many who will feel the pain and discomfort of their lives sometimes for decades but refuse to make the one call that makes a difference.
We felt we were doomed to die and saw how powerless we were to help ourselves; but that was good, for then we put everything into the hands of God, who alone could save us, for He can even raise the dead. – 2 Corinthians 1:9
When you are salty you are looking for God in ALL situations. You are DESPERATE! You desire to please Him above all things. When you are salty you throw caution to the wind and simply go after Him.
It was safer for the Apostles to simply go back to fishing. No Pharisees nor Sadducees going to threaten to kill you while you bring in a catch of fish. Tradition says that all the apostles except John died a martyr’s death. That was not needed. Peter could have lived a quiet life with his family. Andrew would have sent his kids to visit Uncle Simon on the weekends. But he took a chance. He was salty. No, he was not perfect. He often held onto fear. Too often he tried to do things his own way and hold onto the old traditions. But when you are salty you are desperate enough to listen to the whole of God’s word. You are thirsty enough to consider that just maybe you are misunderstanding His Word. Your thirst will make you just a touch insane in your efforts to learn more, experience more and live more.
How do we get thirsty?
- Pray deliberately and with emotion.
- Pray God would open His Word to you in some different way.
- Visit other denominations and faith groups.
- Read books, articles and more from outside you faith group.
- Talk with those in a different faith group and honestly seek to understand their interpretation of Scripture. (You don’t have to agree. You must just listen and seek to understand.)
