"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?"
Most of the time we are white noise. Just another generic voice in the cacophony of the worlds utterances. Our hearts cry out for something more. We are incapable of not desiring to be someone who makes an impact. The very design of our innermost beings is deeply rooted in a rich desire and ability to enrich and change the world around us.
When I was a kid I loved to shoot hoops out on the driveway. My favorite play of all time was when Toni Kuckoc(sp??) nailed a turn around jumper from the top of the key for the Bulls in the 95ish playoffs at the buzzer. There is no counting how many times I reenacted that exact shot. Always yelling, "At the buzzer!!!"
Never once did I practice sitting on the bench. Or, standing under the hoop for a possible rebound. Though I was never going to be a star myself, I dreamt of being the one who made a difference on the biggest stage. I mean, seriously, who goes outside to play basketball and decides to practice sitting on the bench?
We live in a broken world, surrounded by broken and hurting people. When we allow ourselves a moment to reflect on that reality, our hearts will break. And it should, we are made in the image of a loving Father who weeps at the pain and destruction that we find ourselves in.
Why then, do so many of us make so little difference? Those broken, lost, hurting, and desperate people in our lives interact with us and continue in the same path that has led them to exactly where they are right now. We know that they are a mess, but when it is our turn to speak, we trade shallow banalities and trite slogans.
You and I are made to be much more than observers of hurt. We are to be the voice that cuts across the grain of heartache and calls towards healing.
Jesus says, "If salt loses its saltiness, how does it get it back"? Luckily, we aren't left wondering. All of scripture is put together purposely. It isn't randomly thrown together. What follows immediately in chapter 5? God's law and its continual influential and shaping truth upon life.
There is nothing within us naturally that can make itself heard over the painful shouts of the world around us. When left to our own devices we are swept along with the current of everything around us. We are drowning people pretending that we can reach out and help those who are also drowning.
The hope of being a difference maker, the voice who calls towards hope and change, is found in being shaped and led by God's truth.
God's law is not just an arbitrary list of rules, it is the revelation of the very Character of whose image you bear. When we become disconnected to these truths, we become overwhelmed by a corrupted image without the power to give "flavor" to those who have become dull.
Do you truly love and care for the hurting in your life? Because if you just compromise and go along to get along, you are not showing love. You are watching them drown. We are made to be living reflections of God's glory, and only when we begin to live in that truth do we find the strength within ourselves to truly help those whose pain is screaming at you.
We do not truly love others if we do not love God first. When love becomes disconnected from the source of Love it becomes nothing more than self promoting comfort seeking. Because truly helping will make us uncomfortable. Standing by and watching your friend drown is easy, there is no risk, and we can pretend to be a good friend. It costs us nothing.
If you want to love in a way that saves, love the truth of the only one who can save.
This cats got the right idea......kinda
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