MInisters Desk Oct 13th

The temptation for Christ followers is to isolate ourselves from world that is around us.  We become submerged in a Christian subculture where our friends and acquaintances and social activities and service all take place amongst those who are already followers of Christ.   Others may see their service and outreach into the community only through their organised church based activities.

But Jesus said, "you are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13-14).  A grain of salt is not very big.  Lots of grains of salt, gathered together do not take up much room and they don’t weigh very much.  Yet, despite its size, salt has a significant impact when it’s placed in food.  A little salt on a bland piece of meat can make all the difference.  Have you ever had someone put salt in your water when you weren't looking?  You immediately noticed the change.  A little pinch of salt can alter the flavour of something.  My father grew up eating potatoes that had been boiled in salty water.  Sometime, probably in the 1980s, so that we’d eat healthier, my mother stopped putting salt into the potatoes.   To this very day my father still comments on the different taste the potatoes have due to the absence of salt.

In the same way, Christ followers should have a significant impact on the environment in which we are placed.  Our discipleship is grown and nurtured in the church community as we exalt God in worship and study and apply the bible in explore groups.  Yet that is not where our discipleship ends.  We then embody our faith in service and engage with pre-Christians in the world all around us.  Whatever else we do in the world, we should be flavouring the world with the presence of Jesus Christ.  We are created to make a difference in the places where we are placed.

The difference that we make is for the benefit of the world.  Modern science warns us against too much salt in our diets.  Yet it also warns us against too little.  Our bodies need salt to function properly.  So too does the world need our presence to make it better than it could be otherwise.  In a world that values self above others the counter-cultural message of the gospel is needed evermore.  Just by living out our faith we influence the world.  All we need to do is live and speak in the same way away from church as we do in church and we will be a blessing from God to the world.  We can take our practice of pastoral care into the community and deliberately spend time listening to and caring for hurting people in our workplaces and neighbourhoods.  We can exercise our servant hood by offering ourselves to others to make things easier for them.  We can use our words in appreciation and acknowledgement of others and brighten their days.

Yet, if we are to retreat into our Christian we miss out on the opportunities that God gives to us to practice and model love, selfless sacrifice, forgiveness, reconciliation and compassion.  God has placed us in the world for a reason, to show him to the world.

Grace and peace

David Fender