SUGAR, COCOA, OR SALT?
Father, thank You for bringing me to this place and this time today. I ask You to speak to me right now, and to let Your Word breathe life into my heart. Please use these next few moments to bring me to more of a fullness of You and to learn more of Your Glory and how to leave the footprints of Jesus everywhere I go today. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen!
Read Matthew 5:13
I just had to take a break from writing to change a load of laundry and get some more coffee. While in the kitchen I decided to do some exploring and see just what all contained salt. Butter, check. Ketchup, check. Mustard, check. Salad dressing, check. French onion dip, check. Bologna, check. Hot dogs, check. Chocolate syrup, check. Ice cream, check. Ritz crackers, check. Peanut butter, check. Cereal, check. Bread, check. Dr. Pepper, check. Pretty much everything I looked at contained salt. I did this little exercise because I was thinking that at times I wish Jesus had called us the sugar of the earth, or the cocoa powder of the earth. I mean who does not love sugar and all its delicious sweetness? Chocolate, now find me someone that does not love chocolate and is sane. My mom cannot eat it now, but she did love it when she could, and still longs for it at times. I do not think salt excites people as much and sugar or chocolate. Then my mind goes to French fries, not sure my mind is ever far from a good burger and fries but that is an issue for me and my clogging arteries to deal with later. As I think about a large order of fries covered in salt my mouth starts to water, and I momentarily turn into Joey Tribbiani from Friends and my mind is so consumed with the fries that I lose my train of thought.
I admit it, I am a saltaholic, not even sure that is a word, but I am one. I put salt on just about everything. I have never tried it in my coffee, but I bet it would be good even there. If we are going to fulfill this characteristic of salt then we, as a collective church body, also have to be good at everything and be flavoring every aspect of life.
Several years ago an Op-ed piece by conservative columnist Cal Thomas challenged the way I thought about how flavor life. In the column, Mr. Thomas criticizes the way that most conservative Christians confront culture. He argues that attacking cartoon characters for supposedly advancing a homosexual agenda is a far cry from the thousands of years when Christians led the way by flavoring the arts, thought, music, science, and all aspects of society. Consider these intellectual and cultural heavyweights from the past; writers such as: T. S. Eliot, J. R. R. Tolkien, John Donne, John Milton, C. S. Lewis, and G. K. Chesterton; philosophers and thinkers such as: Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, William of Ockham, Anselm of Canterbury, and John Duns Scotus; scientists like: Isaac Newton, Johann Kepler, Robert Boyle, Louis Pasteur; and musicians and artists as: Handel, Brahms, Bach, Rembrandt van Rijn, and Albrecht Durer. These men and others like them shaped and flavored their culture. They created great works and advanced technology to never before imagined heights. They thought critically and used the intellect given them by God. I implore you to follow their lead today and flavor your surroundings for Him.
Leave His footprints as you walk today!
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