Salt of the earth
Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. “For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, after he has laid the foundation and cannot finish it, all the onlookers will begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man started to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ Luke 14:27-30
From the text, the Lord Jesus Christ was set to accomplish His purpose of coming in the flesh and that was to die on the cross. He was traveling with His disciples to go to Jerusalem and large crowd of people continued to follow Him. Yet, these people were there out of curiosity for He sensed from them the unwillingness to be committed to God. So, He gave them a reality check by telling them the demands involved as a follower of God. Anyone who wants to be His disciple should count the cost of following Him for it is costly. But the benefits of following Him will outweigh the costs. There will be hardships on the path of those following Him and there will be great temptation to give up and not continue. Reading through the Scriptures will provide us a clear picture of what the life of a disciple looks like and it is not a life of ease. But His life in us helps us to carry the cross. Included in His calling, as a child of God, you are to enrich and preserve what is good and right. “Now, salt is good, but if salt should lose its taste, how will it be made salty?” (Luke 14:34). The life of Christ in us makes it possible for us to influence others. Through us, He becomes available to others. Remember He changed your life to which He could do to others as well. His offer of new life can help someone to be freed from addiction, mend a broken relationship, heal the hurt because of the past experience, and provide comfort to a grieving heart. Once you forget who you are in Christ, you lose the opportunity to be an influence for His name’s sake. Jesus said you are like salt that has lost its saltiness and is, therefore, good for nothing. You lose the opportunity to show the glory of God. This is what God has called us to live for: “Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:16). This is why His command to those who want to be His disciples is to listen and understand when He speaks. “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen” (Luke 14:35). He wants that your life reflects who He is. If you think your life is not making a positive impact to others around you, ask the Lord to help you lived out the life He gave you. Allow Him to change your life so you can regain your saltiness and influence others to be drawn more closely to Him.
Blessings,
Noel De Guzman
www.my-wbc.com