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“He is the salt of the earth” is a phrase we say about someone we deeply respect. Jesus says this about us! What does He mean? The Bible gives us clues. In Leviticus 2:13, the grain wave offering must be made with the “salt of the covenant.” In Numbers 18:19, holy offerings are presented as “a covenant of salt forever before the Lord….” 2 Chronicles 13:5 tells us the Lord God gave the kingship of Israel to David and his sons forever “by a covenant of salt.” In biblical times, salt was the preservative par excellence, symbolizing both durability and reliability. The “covenant” can be summed up as “God’s determination to deal with evil once and for all and so put the whole creation (and humankind with it) right at last,” says N.T. Wright. Therefore, when Jesus calls His followers the “salt of the earth,” He means by His indwelling Spirit to make us His agents bringing His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven (Ephesians 1:9-10). Becky Pippert² made this point years ago with the title of her classic, Out of the Shaker & Into the World. Jesus wants you out there today. He wants you in difficult places – where things are disconnected, where people don’t hear each other, where some have come very close to giving up hope. He wants people and situations all around you to have a “taste” of heaven on earth. 

Prayer: Dear Lord, I am going out today in Your name, by Your power, with Your good news. Help me live and love the way You do. Thank You that one day all of this will be made new. Amen.

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² Rebecca Manley Pipper. Out of the Shaker & Into the World. IVP. 1999

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