Matthew 5:13 (14.02.19)

Matthew 5:13 NIVUK
13 ‘You are the salt of the earth. 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.

Often our reflections on this passage revolve around what the salt of the earth is and how we can be the salt of the earth. There’s a more challenging side to this passage, however, the possibility that we can lose our saltiness, that how we live can cease to have a positive impact on the communities around us. Sometimes our behaviour can have an obvious negative effect. This should be easy to spot and be alert to. Sometimes, however, it may be that our lives are simply irrelevant to our community and have no impact at all. This is subtler and it can be easy to carry on oblivious.

Father, help us to engage with those around us, and not simply melt into the background unnoticed.