Jesus tells us in the Bible that we are the “salt of the earth”.  Salt is a seasoning as you know and is used on food to give it flavor-to give it meaning.  As Tony Evans says…”you dont say “salt is meaty”, you say “that meat is salty”.  It is the salt that provides the flavor for the food and thereby gives it taste and meaning.  Christ has called us to be “salty” in our culture.  That alone is a summary of what we are about at Life Church and in our Community MInistry. By the way, we would love to have you be apart of our team.

I want to challenge you to “get salty”.  Think of ways you can make a difference and give life meaniing. That is why Christ came-to give us hope, to give us meaning. Think “outside the box” and see if you can come up with ways to be salty in the lives of people you meet. Ask yourself- what are  some things that make us as followers of Christ attractive?  

As you know, we have a new member in our household.  Maggie, the golden retriever puppy, joined our family about 3 months ago.  Maggie does not meet a stranger.  She is a magnet.  I was on the campus of Auburn University moving Jo Bethany into her new apartment and EVERYWHERE we went people at least pointed and gushed over what a beautiful dog she is.  But, the people who stopped and spent time with her, were impacted by her presence in their lives.  Students who were obviously fatigued by the grueling schedules of sorority rush, band and football practice, stopped and for that moment, their lives were encouraged by the love of that dog!  A security guard who was facing a day long assignment of sitting outside and dealing with a bunch of sorority moms acted like she had just made his day. You could see the very countenance  of their face change! What does Maggie possess that you and I don’t?  In short,  Maggie possesses an unconditional love for all people, irregardless of looks, smell, race or social standing.  Maggie loves people and it shows. She’s salty…she makes a difference.  Amazing the things God uses in our lives to teach us…

-Greg

This weekend Robin, Jo and I went down to an area not too far from Panama City (better known to some as the “Redneck Rivera”.  While we were down there, we visited some friends that owned their own condo. In one of the rooms of their condo on the wall, these words were stenciled: “Be fishers of men. You catch ‘em, he’ll clean ‘em”. When will we ever learn to let Jesus do the cleaning and just accept people the way they are?  The great thing about the grace of God is that it extends to all people.  It does not matter what you have done, thought or said.  It does not matter if you are heterosexual or homosexual, black, white, hispanic, democrat or republican. It does not matter who I like or dislike. The love of God in Christ is extended to us all. The question I have to continually ask myself is “am I being an instrument of his grace to all people or am I sucking the life right out of them by standing in judgement”.  Giving life means to extend grace. 

Several years ago, I heard the story of the traditional town drunk who had come to Christ, rehabbed and gone ”on the wagon”  (If you are an Andy Griffin show fan, the image of the Mayberry town drunk, Otis Campbell comes to mind). His teetotalling  became the talk of church circles and others in the small town. In fact, so many people questioned the validity of his decision to follow Christ to his face, that he eventually descended back into his old lifestyle and died in his alcoholism.

 The world is full of “life suckers”.  So is the church.  Be different.