True Saltiness

Prayer

Final message in our series, Out of the Saltshaker, what it looks like to engage in everyday evangelism.

Whole series has been predicated on the idea that Jesus declares that we are salt of the earth.

And salt is wonderful! It preserves, adds life and flavor, it’s good.

And our focus has been on idea that if we’re going to be salt of the earth, we’ve got to get out of the saltshaker and into world (here’s prayer idea - every time you pick up a shaker of salt, offer yourself to be used for God’s good in the world, that God would shape you into the type of person who would be his good salt).

This morning I want to address another aspect of getting out of the saltshaker. And it’s something that Jesus himself brings up in relation to our being the “salt of the earth.”

Matthew 5:13...“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.”

He says something very similar in Luke 14:34 - “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?”

Now, obviously, it’s the saltiness of salt that makes it distinctive, makes it good, that gives it all the wonderful traits it has to preserve and add flavor, to bring life.

But what does that mean for us - what is it about us as followers of Jesus that would entail our saltiness - that we definitely don’t want to lose (don’t love idea of being thrown out and trampled on).

Let me tell you a story that I think captures this well…story comes courtesy of Jim Henderson

John Barce is a lawyer living in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He tries to follow the mission Jesus has given to all Christians - to connect with the people Jesus misses most in authentic, noncontrived ways. Perhaps because of this commitment, Barce unwittingly became embroiled in a controversial issue in his community. A group of Christians filed suit against a community college where a student wanted to produce a play that depicted Jesus as gay. The student himself was gay, and his planned theatrical production outraged many in the church community.

Barce read about the efforts to obtain a restraining order against the college to stop the play from being produced. Something about the legal action didn’t sit right with him, so he decided to approach the student as a friend, not as a lawyer. He offered to deliver free pizza to the theatre troupe as they rehearsed for the play. He made himself available to serve this student and the cast. In doing so, Barce troubled many Christians who knew him. Why was he siding with the “enemy”? But in offering his friendship, Barce also intrigued his young friend.

Barce’s question to the Christian community was this: What business are we in? Are we the defenders of God’s reputation, or are we proclaimers of his love?

Now, I have to confess, the first time I read this story, I struggled with it some. Very much a part of me that rails against the idea of doing anything that might suggest support for putting on a play that distorts terribly who Jesus is.

But there’s no doubt Barce was right here. I think this was the right approach. I think this was true saltiness.

I’m not the only one who thought this…listen to what the student wrote in an email to Barce: “I only hope that when I’m given the opportunity in the future to serve someone who is different from me, I can do it with the same sensitivity and kindness you have shown me.”

Barce opened a door for genuine, loving conversations (salty language) that would have never been opened otherwise.

Jesus never seemed to worry about his reputation, he never worked to defend it - and it’s been twisted and contorted for centuries now. And truth of who he is will always come out.

In fact, it will come out more clearly if we live like he did, which is what I think saltiness is all about.

Here’s our main thought this morning, what I’m calling true saltiness (that we don’t want to lose), that which makes us truly distinctive as followers of Jesus: Loving others as they are, not as we think they should be (repeat).

Jesus, of course, did this better than anyone. Let me give you a perfect example: John 5:1-9

Jesus is in Jerusalem for one of the Jewish Festivals, and he’s walking around the Pool of Bethesda, which is located just outside the temple complex.

Twin pools located there, five covered colonnades, and it had become a spot for those with most tragic situations to gather.

One reason they gathered there was a legend that had grown: that from time to time, an angel would come and stir the waters, and the first person into the pool when that happened would be healed.

So, Jesus is walking around and he notices a man who is lame lying there on his mat. And Jesus engages him in conversation (salty language!). Learns that the man has been an invalid for 38 years. This has been his life for 38 years, coming here, lying on his mat, likely begging to survive. That’s a hard life.

Jesus asks him, “do you want to get well?” The man responds, “Sir, I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes ahead of me.”

Now, there’s a couple of ways to hear the man’s response - it may have been sort of pitiable one, “I would love to be well, but I’m here by myself, no one to help. Someone else always beats me to it.

Some scholars suggests it has more of a bite to it - that his response is more along the lines of - as one scholar put it, “the crotchety grumblings of an old and not very perceptive man who thinks he is answering a stupid question.”

Now, that might strike you as harsh - that Mr. Bible Scholar is being a little cynical. But as we’ll see in just a minute, the shoe may well fit.

Regardless, Jesus instructs the man to get up, pick up his mat and walk. Jesus heals the man! Power and strength fill those dilapidated muscles and the man does exactly what Jesus commands him to.

But that’s not the end of the story. Here’s where we see the saltiness of Jesus come out: John 5:10-15.

The man is healed, picks up his mat and he starts walking. Here’s problem, it’s the Sabbath. And to carry your mat on the Sabbath is considered work, which is forbidden on Sabbath. So the Pharisees, the righteousness police, confront him.

Here’s where we also begin to see character of this man emerge more clearly. In response to their questioning him about carrying his mat, he says, “The man who made me well said to me, pick up your mat and walk.” He told me to do it. He throws the blame on Jesus. Throws him under the bus!

Pharisees don’t really care that this man who’s been an invalid for 38 years is now walking! That just want to know who would be telling others to break the Sabbath - that’s real danger!

So, they ask, who was it? The man doesn’t know. Jesus healed him and he doesn’t bother to find out who Jesus is!

Here’s where we get to the really telling part. The man at some point makes his way into the temple courts. And notice what it says about Jesus in vs. 14, “Jesus found him at the temple.”

Jesus had been looking for him! Man had no idea who Jesus was, but Jesus knew who he was, and wanted to continue to engage with him. Love him. Be salt to him.

When you see the character of this man, Jesus’ statement to him makes a lot more sense…“see, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”

Whether it was the bitter circumstances of his life or something else, Jesus saw something dark in this man’s heart.

Man reveals it himself at the very end of the story: “The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.”

He ratted Jesus out. It was bad enough that he blamed Jesus for his carrying the mat in the first place, but now he’s made a point of going back to the Jewish leaders to tell them exactly who it was - it was Jesus.

Crotchety old man, indeed. What an ingrate! He’s kinda a selfish jerk.

And that’s the man - out of all those gathered under the colonnades at the pool of Bethesda, that’s the one Jesus noticed. And chose to engage, ask questions. To heal. And then to go search out. To lovingly warn. To love.

That’s saltiness. That’s what it looks like to love others as they are, not as we think they should be.

This is the kind of love that makes us salty. That brings life. Goodness. This is essence of what we want to bring into the world as we get out of our saltshaker.

This is everything we talked about last summer when we worked our way through Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount - which is all about that greater righteousness, having true inner goodness - heartfelt love for all others. That’s common thread working its way through Jesus’ brilliant teaching in Sermon on Mount. Let me remind you of a few examples.

You have heard that it was said, “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth,.” But I tell you, do not resist an evil person…In other words, don’t return evil for evil, don’t seek getting back - return good for evil. Love others as they are.

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven…If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?

Do you see what Jesus is saying here ? Our love must be distinctive. Different. Loving others as they are, not as we think they should be (grateful, kind, hardworking…) is very different. That’s true saltiness.

Why Jesus tells us, do not judge. Don’t engage in condemnation engineering - don’t try to get people to behave or think the way you want them to by condemning or shaming. No shortage of that happening today.

Jim Henderson makes a great point in saying that one reason it doesn’t work is not necessarily even because the person might disagree with you, but because they are too proud to openly admit their vulnerabilities.

Which is so true! I don’t find it easy to admit I’m wrong.

True saltiness is loving people freely as they are. Letting them be responsible before God. Honoring their individual sovereignty, the fact that we were all created in image of God, includes being created to reign, to have our own rule - our own free will. Which we can use to live for ourselves, or we can surrender our will to live under God’s reign…which is what it means to enter into Kingdom of God. But, ultimately, that’s always between the person and God. He is King. He is judge. Each person is responsible before him.

Central aspect of living in Kingdom of God is to love others as they are, not as we think they should be. The Bible has a word for this…grace.

That’s what will distinguish us from rest of the world. That’s true saltiness. And if we’re going to get out of the saltshaker and into the world in a way that really does add flavor and goodness, we need to do so by actually being salty.

Challenge - How can we become a person who loves others as they are, not as we think they should be?

Our goal here is always twofold - to know the truth and then to surrender to it. Or, as Jesus often says it, to hear his words and put them into practice. So, how will you put Jesus’ word to you this morning into practice?

This is hard - I can think of several people immediately that I’m struggling to do this with right now in my life. One example...

I was sitting in on a meeting a while back, and the person leading is this super nice guy. Really, too nice…the meeting starts dragging on...

While I’m sitting there finding myself getting increasingly irritated, can we move this along. Then it dawns on me - I’m not loving him as he is. I’m withholding that. I want only to love him as I think he should be - someone who runs a meeting the way I think it should be run.

That become an opportunity for confession. Lord, forgive me for failing to love this man. Give me eyes to see him as you see him.

We want to see others with eyes of Jesus - way Jesus saw that man at pool of Bethesda - that crotchety, ungrateful man. Jesus loved him as he was.

Let that be a spiritual exercise for you, as you recognize judgment or irritation or anger or dismissiveness towards others…these are most often signs those people are not meeting some standard you’ve set in your mind and heart.

Let that be an opportunity to confess your sin before Jesus and invite him to change your heart - and your eyes. To help you become salty.

Here’s another practice: Pray daily for someone you do not like…group of people you do not like (I think for all of us, there’s particular behaviors or thinking that we have harder time with, that really irk us). Pray as an act of love, for their good - even in our prayers we can be condemning or self-righteous.

Let me finish with this: Consider for a moment if we truly had this kind of saltiness (first of all, how freeing it would be - how exhausting it must have been for Pharisees to be morality police…)

But how different it would be to engage others in this way. I’ve been quoting this from Jim Henderson a lot as we’ve talked about everyday evangelism - Be yourself. Be human. Be normal. Be real. Be intentional.

But in this case, let’s be abnormal. Different. Distinct. Salty. Because sometimes, that’s all we need.

Leigh, a committed Christian, and Diane, a committed New Ager, were co-workers for nine years. Over the years, they became friends, Friendship grew when they worked on a project together. Business questions led to philosophical questions, which ultimately led Diane to coming to faith in Jesus Christ.

But I want you to hear how Diane described her interactions with Leigh: Our discussions seemed open and frank and remarkably free of the canned answers that I had so often received to my questions. Leigh’s genuine interest in honestly answering my questions and the fact that she did not discount my spirituality in order to elevate her position, coupled with her apparent love of Jesus and God, allowed me to open up and be receptive to what she was saying. Our friendship allowed the trust.

That’s a great picture of true saltiness.

Really, that’s been point of this whole series. Sometime we make evangelism out to be this huge, impossible task.

but what if it wasn’t - what if it really was made up of ordinary people making ordinary attempts. That Jesus really does use us, as us. That it’s about doing the doable. Willingness to engage in genuine, loving conversations with others.

But it really does start here, this brings us full circle - because the whole reason Jesus welcomed sinners and ate with them was because he genuinely loved them. Our perceptions and attitudes will shape our actions. Getting out of the saltshaker begins with sharing that same love Jesus had, having true saltiness, loving others as they are.