Something's Missing

One of my favorite hobbies in the world is making bread. The process is so satisfying — seeing the dough take shape, rise overnight, and be kneaded into a beautiful loaf ready to feed my family or friends. 

I have been making homemade bread for so long now, I can almost do it with my eyes closed. Well, almost. A few months back, I got in a serious conversation with my husband while I was making a loaf of bread. Because we were talking about something that was much more important than my loaf of bread, my focus was on our conversation and not on my bread-making. I mixed all the ingredients, let my bread sit in the bowl on the counter to rise, and went to bed. When I woke up in the morning, the bread had risen correctly, so I put it in the oven. 

Thirty minutes had passed, and viola, a beautiful loaf of bread! We cut it open to eat it, and for some reason, even though it looked beautiful, it tasted flavorless. It was completely plain and not tasty at all. I gasped when I realized it was because I had forgotten to add salt! My recipe was simple; it called only for flour, starter, salt, and water. I had made a loaf of bread with essentially only flour and water! 

Even though my bread appeared perfect on the outside, we had no choice but to throw it out. It was everything bread should be, but without the salt, it was no good to eat or use. It looked like a delicious loaf of bread, but it had no purpose as a loaf because it was truly tasteless. 

In Matthew 5, Jesus preached his famous sermon on the mount to the disciples. During this sermon, He explained to them the importance of being “salt” to the earth. 

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” (Matthew 5:13 NIV)

As Christians, we provide salt to this earth. Have you ever had someone tell you that there was just a light that shined in you? Or, had someone tell you that you made their day based off the way you treated them? This is the salt of the gospel in you. It’s seasoning to others and its life to those around us. When we lose our saltiness and become like the culture around us, we become not what we were intended to be as Christians. 

We are meant to be set apart. We are meant to appear different than the world, to provide a specific saltiness, that is the salt of the gospel. When people encounter this salt and “taste” it in us, they will see Christ and be drawn to want more of that salt, which is the gospel of Jesus! 

Jeremiah 1:5 declares, 

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Being salt to this earth means being set apart. Let those around you see the salt of the gospel in and through your life so that there is no denying how great this gospel of Jesus truly is! 

Would you pray with me?
Jesus, help me to be the salt this world needs to those around me. May I live set apart as You have called me to be. Help others to see Your truth and Your gospel through my life and be drawn to You! In Your name. Amen. 

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Scripture is quoted from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.