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jamiewamsley.com

Posted on July 9, 2010 - by Jamie Wamsley

Pour Some Salt on Me

Ancient Ways
Pour Some Salt on Me

“Salt is what makes things taste bad when it isn’t in them.” – Anonymous

Sometimes I will read a passage of Scripture that will remind me of a different passage of Scripture, and as I consider those two semi-related ideas, they will turn my mind in a whole new direction.

Yesterday, I was reading Matthew 5.13 – a very good, if not somewhat familiar, verse – which says, “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 under foot by men.”

Though I have often heard messages that explore the idea of salt, especially as a preserving agent, it was the word tasteless that caught my attention this time.

That word, tasteless, immediately brought to mind another one of my favorite verses, Psalm 34.8 – ‘O taste and see, the Lord is good.’

As I began to reflect on these two passages, I was hit by an amazingly obvious realization.

It is God’s presence in me that gives my life flavor.

When I read Psalm 34.8, I come away understanding that the presence of God is ‘good’ – meaning that it is a pure, powerful and wonderful sensory experience; better than a person can find anywhere else (up to and including drinking heavily, dropping acid, having sex, eating cheap pizza, winning the lottery, watching the Bears at Soldier Field, etc, etc…).

It is that same presence – that same ‘experience’ of God – made manifest in me that transforms an otherwise relatively dull and uninteresting life and gives it real taste.

Conversely, when I read Matthew 5.13, I understand that the lack of God’s presence in my life will render me relatively tasteless.

The passage says that God-followers are the ‘salt of the earth’. That is, they bear the presence of God within them and they are who should be flavoring the world with the overwhelming character of God – His joy, His goodness, His love, kindness, compassion, mercy, etc…

And yet, these same people can and do become… tasteless. And God asks the rhetorical question, “How can they be made salty again?”

In my mind, I wonder if God isn’t saying, “If my presence in these people doesn’t make them taste good, then nothing will ever make them taste good.”

And even as I write those words, I realize how often people fail to experience the presence of God through their interactions with me. In reality, the vast majority of the time, I am just not that flavorful.

Yet, I don’t want to manufacture it, either. I don’t want to force joy – or to put on the false mask of Cheerleader Christianity. Neither God nor the world have any need of even more superficial posturing.

I do, however, want a continual, daily supernatural experience of God so profound, so compelling and so overwhelming that people are caught up in its wake. I want my experience of God to be so palpable that others are drawn towards Him through it.

I want to be salt, and I want my life to have flavor.

God, I genuinely don’t know to what extent this kind of life is possible – but to the extent that it is, I am asking You to help me find it. I want to experience You in Your absolute fullness and I ask You to root out every sin and obstacle that prevents me from becoming the person You want me to be. God – and I say this with a significant amount of hesitation – be ruthless with me. Help me go where I can’t go by myself. Make me flavorful. Thank you, Jesus. I love You and trust You. Amen.

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by Jamie Wamsley on April 1, 2010
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by Jamie Wamsley on March 24, 2010
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by Jamie Wamsley on March 9, 2010
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by Jamie Wamsley on February 27, 2010
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by Jamie Wamsley on February 26, 2010
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by Jamie Wamsley on February 23, 2010
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« Older Entries
Ancient Ways

Pour Some Salt on Me

“Salt is what makes things taste bad when it isn’t in them.” – Anonymous

Sometimes I will read a passage of Scripture that will remind me of a different passage of Scripture, and as I consider those two semi-related ideas, they will turn my mind in a whole new direction…

Stolen Wisdom

Wanting a Better Story

“Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story.” – Max Ehrman

I just finished reading Donald Miller’s latest book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, and I admit it – it got to me. In the context of his own journey towards meaning and significance, Don does a phenomenal job of processing our everyday lives as a story. I am genuinely grateful for his perspective, and how it has shaped my understanding over the past few days. Here is a short example thought from his book …

Everyday Moments

Conditions for Growth

“I think that if ever a mortal heard the voice of God it would be in a garden at the cool of the day.” - F. Frankfort Moore

Yesterday, I planted my Father’s Day gift in the backyard.

My wife bought me six blueberry bushes of differing varieties from an on-line nursery in Arkansas. In a good year, the website says, these bushes may yield as much as 10-12 pounds of blueberries each.

I am not optimistic…


Forgotten Legends

Revolutionary Faith

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” - 1 Corinthians 15:55

On a recent trip to Virginia, I had the opportunity to visit Bruton Parish Episcopal Church in downtown Williamsburg. In continuous operation since 1715, this church has a tremendous history.

Prior to the American Revolution, when they were members of the Virginia House of Burgesses, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry…

Dangerous Materials

Rapture Ready!

“A culture is made – or destroyed – by its articulate voices.” – Ayn Rand

DISCLAIMER: If you consider yourself a Christian and are somewhat easy to offend, please do not read the remainder of this post – and by all means, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK! You will have a less than pleasant day. If, on the other hand, you are genuinely interested to know how many of our friends and neighbors view evangelical Christians, you will find Rapture Ready! by Daniel Radosh to be a very interesting, very thought-provoking and all-too-often-true perspective on Christian culture…


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