DON’T LOSE YOUR SALT

Julie Thixton

“Let your speech always be gracious, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how to answer everyone”Col 4:6

Salt is savory spice that makes food taste better. It is medicinal. It creates an antibacterial environment to allow healing and absorbs fluids to help dry out the wound. It cures meat and fish to keep it from rotting. Salt also makes you thirsty. This is a clear sign that you need water. When you ignore your bodies cry for water, you become dehydrated and lose critical electrolytes. The primary electrolyte that is lost, is salt. The most significant symptom is rapid or irregular heartbeat. When the ticker begins to flicker, serious trouble is ahead unless you STOP and replenish your fluids and salts. 

When you begin to dehydrate spiritually, you begin flicker in and out of grace. If you don’t stop and replenish your spiritual fluids, the loss of graciousness will most likely manifest itself in the words you speak and the actions you take.

APPLICATION

Life presents many unsavory circumstances and challenges. Nothing reveals this more than a bad day travelling. And nothing is sharper than a tongue that’s lost its seasoning. You’re tired, need a shower, feel like you have a mouth full of fur, and you have plane hair. These issues, coupled with airport melee, provides a breeding ground for frustration, short-tempered responses to either your companions or the people you encounter along the way. The anticipation and excitement of the trip planned, or the hopeful anticipation of smooth sailing on the journey home, dissolves into irrational behavior. As if the time, the moment, and the people you encounter were waiting just for you to show up so they could ruin your day. Thing is, once words are spoken, they cannot be unsaid. The rat is out of the trap and the salt shaker is empty, and we leave wounded souls in our wake instead of souls who experienced God’s grace. Remember, a little salt on the tongue makes for well-seasoned and gracious conversation.

So, if you find yourself in baggage staring at an empty luggage carousel and your last ounce of grace begins to flicker, replenish it. God makes us thirsty for a reason. So that we will move in and draw from His well, whispering His name in prayer and praise. When we say his name, we give up our bitterness, our anger, our frustration. So, run into the shelter of his name until the storm has passed (Proverbs 18:10). And in that quiet place, pray, continually and with thanksgiving (Col 4:2). And as his name fills our heartwell, so does grace, and our thirst is quenched. 

“There is none like you, O Lord; you are great, and your NAME is great in might”Jeremiah 10:6.

IN CONTEXT

We are a walking, talking, personal witness for Christ. Our words and actions present the gospel without preaching. Practical, street-wise Christianity lived out in the everyday pockets of life. The Apostle Paul, who was in prison in Rome, wrote the Epistle of Colossians instructing the church at Colossae to be vigilant in prayer and conversation so that doors would open to speak Christ to the world.  The Greek word used for “vigilant” means “wakeful.” Stay awake. Be mindful of the balance between salt and grace. How we speak is the ‘tell’ of our hearts. Not hell-fire and brimstone, but in gracious everyday conversation that reflects the truth of God’s word and human graciousness. William Barclay, a Scottish theologian and author, expresses Col 4:6 this way: “Let your speech always be with gracious charm, seasoned with the ‘salt of wit’, so that you will know the right answer to give in every case.” The “salt of wit” infers a conversation seasoned with grace and humor. I like that. Find the humor in in every situation and God’s grace will follow. #besaltandgrace

 © Baggywrinkle 2019

THE ROAD LESS RAVELED

Julie Thixton

View fullsize

“The Road To Emmaus.” 1877 painting by Robert Zund. Public Domain.

“Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all the things which happened. So, it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so they did not know him.” Luke 24:13-16.

Have you ever travel on a Sunday? Think it’s gonna be a piece of cake? No crowds, no lines, no frustration? Well, let me tell you about two other fellow travelers who happened to be walking down the road one Sunday. It was the first day of the week, so I imagine the road was crowded, things were thumping since it was the day after the Sabbath. This day, though, happened to be resurrection Sunday (vs. 1).

So, here’s these two disciples, somewhat unknowns, like most of us are, walking down the road, when Jesus unexpectedly began walking with them. Not only did they not recognize him, but they were so busy chatting each other up, and agonizing about what had happened to Jesus, they didn’t have a clue He was alive, let alone right there in their midst. In fact, when Jesus asked them what they were talking about, they were dumbfounded that he did not know what had been happening over the last few days. Paraphrasing here, “are you kidding me right now? You don’t know what’s been going on this past week? You didn’t hear?” (vs. 18). 

So much were they caught up in the circumstances of the tangible, they failed to recognize the intangible glory of God. So much so, they called him a “stranger.” It wasn’t until He broke bread with them that evening that their eyes were opened (vs 31). Perhaps it was the nail pierced hands that gave them the bread that opened their eyes to who He is (David Guzik Study Guide; Luke 24 [Morrison]).

APPLICATION

In our travels, sometimes things happen unexpectedly. The plane is delayed, you have a flat tire on the way to the airport, last minute gate change, the kid in the seat behind you pukes, your rental car is not ready, the last shuttle to the hotel just left, your rooms aren’t ready, your rooms aren’t clean, the concierge is unsympathetic to your plight; well, you get the picture. 

Suddenly, we go from lips of praise to lips of “are you kidding me right now?” Instead of presenting a life redeemed, we present a life unraveled. Instead of being a ranger for Christ, we are a stranger for Christ. We are so dumbfounded that our carefully planned “to the minute” trip has morphed into total “to the minute” chaos, that we fail to see Christ in our midst. We fail to reflect the grace we know and instead reflect the unbelief we once knew. 

Are our eyes “restrained” from seeing Him in every circumstance? Every moment we have, unraveled or not, is a moment to “break bread with Jesus.” It could be as simple as helping the poor Mom clean up her kid’s puke, knowing full well you may puke as well. It may be sparing the Concierge your travel unravels, and instead, noticing that her discontent may be because her day is unraveling, and offer a kind word. 

You see, each unexpected bump on your road is not known to gate agent, or the mom, or the rental agent, or the shuttle driver, or the concierge, or the hotel staff. Let’s not be so busy mumbling and feeling sorry for ourselves that we miss the opportunity, the nudging of a simple conversation, to share Christ in our words and deeds. Let’s not be the cantankerous old soul, but rather, the compassionate old soul. 

in context

Jesus saw their sorrow, he heard their anguish, and He was listening. He recognized their reticence to believe what He had taught them concerning His death and resurrection, and He reminded them, “Oh foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!” (vs. 25). We may be reticent to believe anyone cares about what a miserable day we may be having, but He does. How much unbelief do we endure before He must remind us, “it’s not about you.” It’s about His resurrected life in you. #bethelight

© Baggywrinkle 2019