Pass the Salt, Please

I don’t use a lot of salt in my cooking.  Other seasonings for sure.  And the right amount of salt to my taste.  But my son-in-law Brad is fond of salt.  I always make sure to have salt on the table—and I am sure to hear Brad say, “Pass the salt, please.”Salt is a powerful seasoning.  A little can go a long way.  Many recipes call for a ½ teaspoon or a teaspoon (or the equivalent in your country’s measurements).   The other night we had corn on the cob and my grandson Aidan got carried away with the salt on his.  Too salty.  We had to wash it off so he could eat it.One of my cooking specialties is soup—turkey vegetable, split pea, lentil, potato cheese and others.  I add salt, of course, tasting frequently to make sure I get the right amount.  Even in a big pot of soup, a little goes a long way.  But once I forgot I had already added salt, and I did it again.  Too much.  I couldn’t eat it and had to add more stock to dilute the salt.Jesus said we are salt:  “You are the salt of the earth.”  (Matthew 5:13)Our presence, even a few of us,  should be discernable, making a difference.  Where there are many of us, we should have  great influence.  The things that Jesus brings to a life-- love, joy, peace, truth, patience, kindness, self-control, trust, holiness, righteousness, justice and many other character qualities—should be so evident in the children of God that we permeate the community around us.  We salt society.So here’s the problem.  In too many places, you can’t taste the salt.As we live out the authentic, loving life God has called us to, we should be making an impact.  Just a small presence of the body of Christ can flavor a significant area.  In many places, where there are followers of Jesus in large numbers, our homes, our communities, our world should be able to taste the saltiness—it should be just right.Jesus went on to say:  “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.”My prayer for myself is that I would not lose my saltiness.  That I would so reflect who God is and what He is like that I add godly flavor to all I encounter.  That I represent the salt that will transform my world into the taste of God Himself.So  pass the salt, please.c Judy Douglass