Intro<\/strong> \u2013 It was Sunday afternoon. Andrew had his lunch and was doing nothing, as many Sundays go. One thing he had done though; he attended Church that morning and now he was thinking about the sermon and how to connect it to daily life. Salt and Light – nice Bible explanation, some interesting thoughts, but he struggled with the connections about salt, saltiness, \u201cyou are the salt of the World\u201d and daily life outside the Church\u2019s door, especially that part about \u201cfoolishness of the salt\u201d. He recalled the pastor preaching:<\/p>\n (SCREEN) Settled in his recliner, Andrew was still mulling over the idea when he dozed off.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Monday<\/em> afternoon. Workplace. Andrew casually notices that one of his co-workers in the room is not having a great day. There is something going on. As he walked up to the water fountain he noticed the guy was even weeping a bit. He never knew what to do in those situations, so he went back to his cubicle trying to concentrate on his work. All of a sudden, words from Sunday sermon popped up in his mind:<\/p>\n (SCREEN) As surprised as he was thinking about a Sunday morning\u2019s sermon on a Monday afternoon, he decided to do something; or at least try. He fired off a message. \u201cIf you need to talk to someone, I will be glad to help. No pressure, though\u201d. Minutes later came the answer. \u201cThanks, man. I lost someone from my family last week, and I\u2019m not ready to talk about it yet. But it is good to know that I am not alone\u201d. \u201cSure thing. God bless you and comfort you\u201d, Andrew replied.<\/p>\n \u201cMy faith in action.\u201d Andrew always construed messages about sharing his faith as something that is so elaborate that he would never be able to do. \u201cThat\u2019s for the pastors and the elders\u201d. Now a simple, direct, and meaningful opportunity to do that was possibly at hand. \u201cSalting the World with the Word\u201d – the sermon\u2019s theme came to his mind once again, before he dove back in his tasks again.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Wednesday<\/em> evening. The TV is on with the evening news. War is still raging in the East; problems and tragedies are popping up around the world and in the vicinity; people in town were upset about some injustice being made. Problems, corruption, pain\u2026 \u201cThis world is becoming tasteless by the day,\u201d he commented to his wife as they moved to the kitchen. Oops.wow There was that feeling again that Sunday\u2019s sermon was tagging along through his week. Another section of it came to his mind:<\/p>\n (SCREEN) He recalled the pastor mentioning that the point Jesus is making here is that it is impossible for salt to lose saltiness. Then it might be sugar, pepper or even sand, but not salt. He thought of his spiritual life, his actions, and the way faith was or wasn\u2019t shown in his daily actions.<\/p>\n At the table, when he reached for the saltshaker over his fries, he stopped. He remembered the pastor saying that salt prevents deterioration\u2014that it was meant to preserve. The word about repentance came back to him. A total transformation. He set the shaker down, mindful of his blood pressure, but more mindful of his heart. He realized he didn’t need more salt on his food; but that in Christ\u2019s hands, he is the salt of the world, along with all Christians.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n Later in the evening, he tried to remember a word of comfort from the sermon. Is there a word of forgiveness if we feel we are not acting as the salt of the world as we should? He recalled another part of the sermon, when the pastor said about that Greek word\u2014metanoia, was it?\u2014 the word for repentance<\/em>. He was surprised that this part didn\u2019t even need a recap. That was the one part he remembered. True repentance means a change of mind. We turn around Jesus..\/ And now, forgiven, we are sent to live our life reflecting Christ\u2019s light and presence in the World.[4]<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n He went to bed that Wednesday with one picture in his mind. How can salt lose its saltiness? It can\u2019t. It is either salt or it is not. How can a Christian have never his faith shown in works in its life and still be a Christian? He can\u2019t. You are either a Christian or you\u2019re not. He even had a bedtime prayer, something he hadn\u2019t done in in the past few weeks.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Friday<\/em> morning. Coffee shop, coffee mates, different topics of conversation, laughs, double-doubles and fun. Then someone hit the topic of Church going, as someone in his family had invited him to attend on Sunday.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t go to Church\u201d, someone said. \u201cWaste of time.\u201d Andrew lowered his eyes and had another sip of coffee. That was his usual attitude in those circumstances. He didn\u2019t want to trigger anyone, or to be polemic, he didn\u2019t\u2026 \u201cI don\u2019t want to show my faith, I\u2019m embarrassed!\u201d a very sincere thought pierced his mind. \u201cI\u2019m afraid of being salt\u2026I think they\u2019d prefer me to be honey, not salt. They\u2019ll be happier with that.\u201d<\/p>\n But that was a different week. The salt theme was on his mind all along. After another sip of warm coffee, he said. \u201cWell, I go to church!\u201d They talked about it a bit, pros and cons, faith and life\u2026 until Andrew was surprised to hear himself say in the kindest way possible. \u201cyou know, let\u2019s for a moment put the Bible aside as written by humans. Now, I\u2019m pretty sure you all have your own convictions, principles, and truths, right? Andrew was left a little insecure about if he did the right thing. He could sense they were being polite but dismissive. That stung a bit. But again he was comforted by words from the sermon when, later, he went online to read a bit more:<\/p>\n (SCREEN) He spoke the truth, and even though it was met with silence, he did it with kindness. He wasn’t a “harsh” truth-teller, nor a “tasteless” people-pleaser; he was simply being salt in God\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n The weekend came and his mind was bubbling. What a different week! He knew that Christ through the Word was working in him, and it kept building up. He realized that being salt isn’t about winning an argument; it’s about being a presence that refuses to disappear.<\/p>\n On Saturday afternoon he receives a message from one of the coffee mates. \u201cThat thing you said yesterday, it really got stuck in my mind. I can\u2019t stop thinking about it\u201d He smiled and said a mental prayer thanking God for leading him in that. Perhaps that would be the beginning of something in the life of that friend? Andrew was happy to realize that he didn\u2019t have to have a theology degree to be able to share his faith. He just had to be salt in God\u2019s hands. He still didn’t have all the answers, and he still felt like a novice, but he was starting to see that formula the pastor brought in the sermon, Agape Aletheia<\/strong>\u2014Truth that doesn’t hide, spoken with a Love that doesn’t quit. And he couldn\u2019t help but going online to listen to the pastor\u2019s lines about it again:<\/p>\n (SCREEN)<\/p>\n
\nThe Greek word here is not actually taste, but \u201cfool, foolishness\u201d, as the rendering of the word \u201cmoraino\u201d goes. \u201cIf salt becomes fool, how can its saltiness be restored?\u201d. <\/em>Jesus says, ‘You are the salt of the earth.’ That’s us\u2014Christians. We bring Christ’s message to a world that’s lost its flavor, gone tasteless with sin. And here’s the thing: our message sounds foolish to the world. Christ crucified? That sounds like foolishness. But it’s exactly the salt this world needs<\/em>\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n
\n\u201cAs Christians, we have been transformed. Even as sinners we don\u2019t belong to the world, but to Christ.<\/em>[1]<\/strong><\/em><\/a> \u00a0<\/em>Jesus doesn’t just call us to think about faith\u2014he calls us to live it. You’re not just part of the world anymore; you belong to Christ. And now Christ sends you out as salt to share his message with others.”<\/em><\/p>\n
\nProblems rage in the world, in part, because we Christians aren’t being the salt we’re called to be, as a consequence of sin. <\/em>Instead of salt of the Earth, we are the fire of the earth, not preserving but destroying it. Instead of salt, cannons and guns are seen in many places. Instead of preserving life, we humans seek to destroy lives.<\/em> [2]<\/strong><\/a>
\n<\/em>We need to repent\u2014to turn back to God and ask forgiveness when we’ve lost our saltiness.<\/em> Sin has its hallmark all around and we all need to repent of our tastelessness, asking forgiveness before God.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n
\n\u201cI like faith, but I don\u2019t like the Church\u201d another one joined.
\n\u201cAfter all, the Bible was written by sinners, human beings\u201d sentenced someone else. \u201cCan we really trust it? I don\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nMost friends were not startled by it, but one of them cared to ask: \u201cYou do? Do you believe the Bible, Jesus, all that stuff?\u201d
\n-Sure.
\n-Well, we must respect everyone\u2019s choices\u2026 but\u2026don\u2019t you think that\u2019s a little bit na\u00efve? Or at least, with so many religions and different interpretations of the Bible around, that it might not be as true as priests claim it to be?<\/p>\n
\n-Sure \u2013 they nodded.
\n-Now, the books, articles, social media posts you read and learn from and rely on\u2026who wrote them?
\nThere wasn\u2019t really an answer to that. A moment of awkward silence followed\u2014the kind of silence that says, “let’s change the subject before the religious guy gets weird\u201d. Then, all of a sudden, it was everybody\u2019s time to hit the road.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe are bearers of the Good News to the World. Yes, we won\u2019t always be perceived as good flavour \u2013 that is, sometimes the message of the Bible will be bitter to the taste of the world; it would prefer us to be honey. <\/em>Sometimes God’s truth is hard to hear. <\/em>Still, we want to preserve our saltiness. W<\/em>e don’t change the message to make it more palatable. We speak God’s truth with love, trusting that through the cross\u2014foolish as it may sound\u2014God brings people to himself.”<\/em><\/p>\n