Staying Salt

S - Luke 14:25-27, 31-35 (TLJ): "Many people were traveling with Jesus. He said to them, "If you come to me but will not leave your family, you cannot be my follower. You must love me more than your father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters--even more than your own life! Whoever will not carry the cross that is given to them when they follow me cannot be my follower. … If a king is going to fight against another king, first he will sit down and plan. If he has only 10,000 men, he will try to decide if he is able to defeat the other king who has 20,000 men. If he thinks he cannot defeat the other king, he will send some men to ask for peace while that king's army is still far away. It is the same for each of you. You must leave everything you have to follow me. If not, you cannot be my follower. Salt is a good thing. But if the salt loses its salty taste, you can't make it salty again. It is worth nothing.  You can't even use it as dirt or dung. People just throw it away. You people who hear me, listen!"

O - Jesus is not issuing a threat to those who are following. He is describing the dynamics of following. His point is NOT to terrify but to clarify.  He is telling everyone, no exceptions, about the ongoing dynamics required for one who is not just coming near but staying near.  The choice is ours all the way through, every day. The tragic conclusion of failed salt is not about the unlawful but the lawful; it is not about overt sin but about pure devotion.  Followers with other priorities ultimately are not followers at all. Jesus wants all of us to follow. 

A - Being salt in the first place is a miracle, a miracle which includes the dignity of my choice.  Staying salt holds the same exchange.  I can't make myself salty or even keep myself salty … the life of Jesus in me does this.  I do choose if I will be salty by coming near and staying near.  This is a clear and decisive response on my part.  With the king in this explanation I sit down and decide and this decision is made in the close company of the most treasured relationships.  To try and keep the theology of Jesus without the salt of Jesus is to deceive myself.  Though made of dust I choose to never be that which can be neither "dirt or dung."  I welcome the miracle of salt, the challenge of a cross and the irrepressible life of Jesus flowing into me and out of me.

P - Lord who is life and calls all to come and stay near,
Thank you for giving us the great dignity of choice and the clarity to understand the dynamics of real life here and hereafter.  I want to hear you and listen today and every day.  I admit that I cannot gain or maintain my saltiness … but I do choose to stay near or not. Jesus, I choose you back and lean my head on your chest and say, Yes to all you intend, desire and require of me.  I do not say I am able. I say I am willing and I love you back!
Steve