You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. -Matthew 5:13

The only way to understand the meaning of this verse is to understand all the things that salt can do.

It can preserve meat and fish so it won’t spoil quickly – it can make food taste better – Even though it stings, it will help heal wounds. You can also use it as a scrub to refresh the skin. I’m sure there are other ways salt can be used to improve life, and there is a spiritual connection between all of the uses for salt and our purpose in life as Children of God. If that were not true, Jesus would not have said “you are the salt of the earth”. Maybe even it’s true to say that God’s purpose and plan for our life is what makes our saltiness.

But salt can become old and spoiled and useless if it sits too long without being used…

I have a question for all true believers: Are you being obedient to God’s plan and purpose for your life as His Child, or are you sitting idle – losing your saltiness and becoming useless?

Always remember – if you are saved, your life does not belong to you anymore. It belongs to Him, who died for you and rose again.

A very dear friend of mine from the Philippines posted this on his Facebook page a while back. I hope that young man doesn’t mind me saving it and using it.

That simple, humorous, and profound Facebook post reminded me of how helpless and hopeless I am by myself, separated and apart from God.

I don’t know how to operate a helicopter, so I need to find someone who does if I want to travel in one. I need a pilot, and I need to trust that pilot and give him control. If I try on my own, I’m gonna fail. I’m gonna crash. I’m gonna die. I’ll never get where I’m going, and my life will end far away from where I wanted to be.

My life is the same way – I don’t know how to live it in a truly righteous way that will lead to eternal life. Though I try again and again, I fail over and over. If I keep doing that, one day I’m gonna die trying to close the gap – the chasm – between me and God only to find that, in my death, I’m still as separated and apart from Him as I was in life depending on myself trying to get to Him.

Jesus said in John 14, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one come to the Father but by Me.”

So, there’s my Pilot. (Not my copilot, my pilot) Now I need to trust Him and give Him control. If I do that, I’m not gonna crash, burn and die far away from God. I land safely in His arms, right where I want to be.