A Refreshing Influence

We’ve been looking at attitudes, values, and practices that were high on Jesus’ list for those who would be His followers and who would enjoy the fullness of life He promises us. 

I find it comforting that with a certain sense of reality, Jesus seems to speak to the fact that this is a journey that includes challenges that we may experience as having a wearying impact on us. He uses something very common in His time – salt – as a little object lesson.

“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. Matthew 5:13

In Jesus’ time salt was a very important mineral. It was useful for preserving, for healing, and for influencing good flavours, even as we know it today.

But Jesus’ use of salt was in the context of salt needing to be preserved and renewed so it wouldn’t become useless. How does all this fit with what He’s been teaching us?

Clearly Jesus believes that human beings have influence.  You and I were created to bring comfort and support and assistance to others on our life journey and to experience goodness for ourselves as we do.

But, what I believe might have been going through Jesus’ mind was the impact of the disappointments and setbacks and hurts in our lives.  God is encouraging us to receive what we need each day, in each moment, to remain fresh and well and not let one day’s hurts and disappointments pile up on top of another. We’re encouraged to do a daily inventory and bring our lives to God for comfort, healing and renewing. God wants us to deal with today’s issues so unresolved issues don’t build up and destroy us.

Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2

Loving God, You made us and You made this day. We want to live in this day completely reflecting Your goodness, not just in our actions but also in our attitudes and in the deeper spaces of our hearts. 

Help us to keep a steady and clear vision of our whole self as You see us and to quickly admit and deal with anything that pops up today that sours any part of our thinking, feeling, or believing.

Give us good ears so we hear Your call to healing and renewing and fill us with Your power so we actually surrender all that’s going on in us to You. 

We want to be useful instruments in Your hands to bring healing and to help make life better for everyone around us today. Amen

Let’s be realistic about our journey today and let God do whatever is necessary so we are good and we are able to influence for good.