Have Salt in Yourselves

Mark 9:42 (NET) “If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a huge millstone tied around his neck and to be thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life crippled than to have two hands and go into hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 47 If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out! It is better to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where their worm never dies and the fire is never quenched. 49 Everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

Causing Other to Stumble

It is better to lose your own life than to cause an innocent to stumble. Recently, in a news report, I saw young boys, 8 to 12 years old, being trained by ISIS to kill. One trained to kill at that age is changed forever.

It is traumatic at any age to cause the death of another. Even more if it is intentional. Even more still if it is done at a young age. These boys have been caused to stumble. It is a certain path to hell for those who train the boys to be killers.

Cut it Off

The value of a soul is greater than the value of a hand, a foot or an eye. Jesus makes it clear. It is better to lose a body part that leads you into sin than to lose you soul.

Salting with Fire

To salt something with salt is to add a chemical that adds flavor and acts as a preservative. To salt with fire is to add a test that reveals true character. Fire burns away impurities. Fire changes chemical compositions so that one thing when heated is changed into another thing.

When heat and pressure is added to a life, it reveals what is inside. It puts nothing in. It takes nothing out. It only reveals.

Losing Saltiness

Salt does not lose saltiness chemically. It changes when impurities are added. We can deduce then that we lose saltiness when impurities are added to our life and speech.

Be at Peace with Each Other

We will never be at peace with everyone unless we engage on one. Non engagement is not peace. It is avoidance. If we are walking with Christ, we will have enemies. His enemies will hate us. His enemies will be our enemies.

We must be at peace with each other. The world will hate us. We will not be at peace with the world. The only possibility for peace is with each other. Pursue peace with each other.