Be Salty

Have you ever tried to build something? Whether a house, a piece of furniture, or even a major craft project. When you set out, did you first draw plans, decide what material you would use, and work through the price before you began? With any significant project, you would need to know what you’re getting yourself into before you begin. Otherwise, you could end up halfway through, run out of money, and have to stop. If you were building a house, the project would stall out leaving it abandoned until you could gather enough money to continue. In the meantime, what you have begun would begin to waste away or be ruined by the elements. In the end the project would cost you more because you didn’t weigh the cost at the beginning.

As disciples of Jesus, we’re called to the same level of preparation and pre planning as one would build a house. Jesus once said to a crowd, suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish’ (Luke 14:28-30 NIV). Stepping into the life of a disciple is about understanding the life we’ve signed up for. It’s weighing out the expectations, the road ahead, and the responsibilities involved to join the race and have enough energy to complete it. Too often, young believers jump into the fray without any real understanding of what it will cost. Pretty soon, through the pressures of this world and a few bumps along the way, we either give up the fiery pursuit of evangelism or we resign ourselves to a quiet life of reading the bible and going to church. Except now we’re just missing something. Jesus went on to say something on this kind of living as a disciple. Jesus said Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out (Luke 14:34-35 NIV).

We’re called to remain seasoned for the journey ahead. To plan out the cost of what it means to be a disciple so that we don’t grow weary and lose our flavor for spreading the gospel. We’re called to be salty. To season the world around us. To maintain the fire in our hearts that we received at salvation. That requires us to sit down and count the costs. To weigh out the road ahead. The life of the disciple isn’t an easy road. There are many bumps along the way. It’s a long road. Count the costs. Prepare for the road ahead. And be salty.