Nougat 29

Greetings siblings

I pray you are well. It has been an intense week. Moving offices, on the same campus, but nevertheless the entire secretariat, carries its own complexities; and some among us needed accompaniment dealing with health challenges. When you pray, please pray healing for us all, for if any among us is unwell, it is cause for us to pray. No need for names or ailments, as God knows the details even better than I do.

Today’s Holy Nougat is less about our physical health, instead it invites us to intentionally consider our spiritual health.

Matthew 5:13 NLT‬

[13] “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavour? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.

Unsalty Salt

Have you had food that you expected to be salty, and it was bland? It could happen when adjusting to a low salt diet, or having had someone’s food that used less/no salt in the recipe. As one who is used to spicy, well-seasoned food, bland menus tempt me to leave the food uneaten, even when hungry. If asked for my recommendation, my first response is likely to be, ‘It’s

not good.’

What if that is other people’s description of us when asked about our faith?

Siblings, our self-understanding has the potential to impact our lived faith, as does our obedience to God’s Word. It is important that we know who and whose we are so that we walk confidently and purposefully as children of God. I believe that’s what Jesus wants us to know through our Nougat. Jesus clearly affirms our identity. He said we are the world’s salt. That is, we help to:

– add flavour to other’s lives;

– purify;

– preserve wellness;

– soothe hurts;

– remove stains and odours of sin (against us); and

– melt the frozen.

Truly, Paul’s phrase, ‘I can do all things through Christ, my strength,’ comes to mind, for these traits are only possible through Christ.

When we yield to the premise that we have no value or power to impact others, it becomes one way in which we lose our saltiness. It’s spiritually unhealthy. As time progresses, it is likely to be what we project to the world. Worse yet, we might seek the healing we need – the spiritual value and power – from the wrong places or people.

How do we weigh in today – are we effective salty believers, or are we veering toward spiritual unwellness by being Unsalty Salt? Again, as we reflect, let us pray for our siblings who are spiritually unwell, that they might be restored to wholeness.

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May all we seek be found in Christ