Agents Of Growth

Luke 14:34-35

Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. (Luke 14:34-35, ESV)

JESUS’ WORDS TO HIS DISCIPLES about salt have historically been interpreted in terms of flavor and preservation—seasoning society and slowing the corruption of the world. But the fertilizing powers of salt were well-known in the ancient world and have been in many cultures since; the right kind of salt in the right measure enhances the soil and makes things grow. When Jesus called his followers “the salt of the earth,” he was not only hinting at taste and preservation. Even more so, he seems to have been envisioning his followers as agents of increase. Where traditional interpretations of Jesus’ warnings have emphasized the possibility of salt losing taste or flavor, the original language more accurately implies losing potency or effectiveness, or even more literally, being made foolish or becoming nonsensical. Only then does “salt for the soil or for the manure pile” make sense.^a If believers are the world’s fertilizer, we are meant to be spread throughout the land. We help those around us bear fruit.

You may think your mission in this world is to bear fruit for God’s Kingdom, and it is. One of the most significant ways to do that is not to accumulate your own achievements but to enhance the lives of those around you—to seek their fruit more than your own. Too much salt corrodes and destroys; too little accomplishes nothing. But the right amount of you—or, more specifically, the right amount of what God has filled you with and empowered you to do—helps the world flourish. It blows wind in the sails of those around you. It turns you from being one fruitful plant to being the catalyst for a fruitful landscape.

Too many Christians are focused on fulfilling their own little mission, never realizing that their mission is to enhance the mission of their brothers and sisters. Broaden your vision and seek to fertilize the land around you. Serve others by helping them grow.

{Lord, I’ve seen too many people walk through the world leaving a wasteland behind them. May a garden grow in every footprint I’ve left behind me. Help me as I help those around me flourish. Amen.