JUST FOR KIDS...

I have a question for you… have you ever thought of being salt? Yes, salt, like the kind that comes out of a shaker that is sprinkled on food to make it tastier? Well, as strange as it may sound, Jesus once said: “You are the salt of the earth.” Then He added, “but if salt has lost its taste, it is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet” (Matthew 5:13).  

Now, Jesus didn’t say that we should be salt or that we will be salt. He said we are salt! And then He warns that we might lose our salty flavor. He says if that happens, salt becomes useless and serves no purpose.  And Jesus is making a comparison as to how we in our words and deeds can add flavor to the lives of people around us. That is to say, as salt we add “flavor” to the lives of our parents, friends, and neighbors when we share the love, kindness, mercy, joy and many other happy blessings that God has given us in Jesus who gave us His love, kindness, mercy, joy and so many blessings by His life, in being our beloved crucified and risen Savior.

To be salt, we are following Jesus. And so the words which we speak make a difference in other people like salt makes a difference in how food tastes.  We might ask, “what do I say when I get up in the morning… when I come home from school… when I’m with my family… when I’m talking about things with my friends?” Are my words “salt” that makes people happy (for example)? Are my words salt for the lives of others that they receive “flavor” from what I say? 

Now think about the way you act with other people? Am I friendly and polite? Do I treat people as ones loved by God just as He loves me? Am I concerned about the well-being of the people in my life as Jesus would be concerned like when He told the lesson of the Good Samaritan… or had compassion on those He healed… or befriended people who were unloved? Yes, Jesus Himself was “salt” to the people He met during His ministry and in the giving of life on the cross. 

In Jesus, we have the best example to use our words and deeds to His praise and glory. He gave His life to enrich our life not only in the here and now but for all time, in all places, into all eternity. In Him, we make a difference in the lives of the people around us when we are “salt of the earth” that retains our flavor as we hear, read, & study His Word at home, in church, in Sunday School… to enrich others with the love of God “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  

So think of yourself as “salt” to be sprinkled on the people in your life as a child of God and a follower of Jesus Christ. Let’s Christ’s love sprinkle on them through you. 

A Prayer to pray:   Dear Jesus, You are the “salt” of my life. Help me to follow You by using

my words and deeds in being “salt” to enrich the people in my life as

You have enriched me with Your love as my Savior. In Your blessed

name, I pray. AMEN