Encourage One Another

Encouragement (by David Peterson at The Rock Of Jesus Church)

As part of the “Sermon on the Mount”, and the beginning of “The Similitudes” where Jesus compares people to things on the earth to help us understand what and how we are to act in this world, He says this in Matthew 5:13; “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people.” He uses salt, which is used to preserve and enhance flavor of food, to say that it can attract impurities and be rendered tasteless and useless much as people can also be tainted by sin. As believers we are to fight against corruption and stay salty by remaining true to our mission of spreading the gospel.

Derick Bingham, a long-time pastor of Christchurch in Belfast,wrote; “The ministry of encouragement is open to Christians as it is to no others. Christians have a new life in Christ, an all-powerful Holy Spirit to lead them into all truth, and a Heavenly Father who will protect and bless them eternally. If any people anywhere are qualified and equipped to a ministry of positive and healthy encouragement in a desperately discouraging world, it is the Christian church.

Christian disciples, Christ said, are the “salt of the earth.” They should make life tasty! They should be, above all else, “encouragers.” Just as Jesus implied, we are to share His Word with others and encourage them in the faith. Bingham shares that we are to help sisters and brothers avoid sinful ways.

“Salt and Light” is a hymn written by the prolific Melvin Corpin and the first stanza is;

We are the salt and light

We bring to the world

The warmth of God’s love

The bounty of grace

That comes from above.

Corpin expresses what Jesus intended: we are to share His love and Word with the world.

Let us pray: Jesus, thank You for being our salt. It is You in us, the true salt, that seasons and shines in our lives and those around us. Help us to persevere and preserve those we encounter through your Word! Amen.