A Holy Flavor
Well, hello there, friend, you just stroll right on up here on this ol’ front porch and rest yourself for a lil’ ol’ spell. This place has been quieter than an ol’ possum playin’ dead. I’ve swung this here screen door open wide, not for show, but because good company deserves a grand entrance. You plum bring the kind of presence that makes a place feel real lived in like a kitchen that smells of fresh cobbler or a barn filled with the soft rustle of hay. So come on in, settle yourself, and let’s wander into God’s Word together the way two folks stroll down a country lane takin’ in every bit of beauty along the way.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:13, “You are the salt of the earth.” Friend, that there’s not just a sweet lil’ sayin’ to stitch on a pillow. Salt was real precious in Bible days. It plum kept food from spoilin’ and corruption from spreadin’. Jesus was tellin’ His followers that they were meant to hold back the rot in this world. And Colossians 4:6 deepens the message by sayin’, “Our speech should be seasoned with salt.” In other words, our lives ought to carry a flavor that reminds folks of God’s goodness.
A country preacher once told a story about Miss Fern, a mountain woman who made pickles so good they could make a grown man cry. Folks said her pickles stayed real crisp longer than anybody else’s. When someone asked her how she did it, Miss Fern chuckled and said, “Friend, I just pack the jars. The salt does the savin’.” That preacher said Miss Fern understood what Jesus meant. Salt don’t do no braggin’. Salt don’t do no struttin’. Salt just quietly keeps things from goin’ bad. And that’s exactly what believers are called to do.
Whether you’re the only Christian in your family, the lone believer in your classroom, or the quiet follower of Jesus in your workplace, you’re downright meant to be a preservin’ presence. You don’t have to preach a sermon. Sometimes just refusin’ to gossip, speakin’ kindly, or livin’ with integrity is plum enough to make folks fall silent when you walk in. They may not say it out loud, but they know you carry a different flavor. Philippians 2:15 says, “We shine as lights in a crooked world.” Salt and light.That’s plum our callin’.
Father, thank You for makin’ me salt in a world that needs preservin’. Help me live with courage, kindness, and conviction. Season my words with grace and my actions with love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Alright then, friend, truth has a way of settlin’ into a person’s spirit the same way a soft evenin’ breeze settles across a quiet field of wildflowers. Humility, the kind Joseph carried, can steady your heart like a sturdy ol’ barn beam that’s plum held up for over a century of storms. God’s callin’ on your life can git to shinin’ through you the way a bright lantern glows in a mountain cabin window on a dark night. And your witness, seasoned with the salt Jesus talked about, can git to makin’ the world around you just a lil’ bit brighter and a whole lot better like a warm porch light guidin’ weary folks home after a long day.
With joy,
Gwen
