Jesus
finishes this difficult teaching session with a summary statement; “everyone
will be tested with fire.” In other
words, following Jesus will involve difficulty and unpleasantness. No one gets through this life without their
faith being tested. Other translations
say, “everyone will be salted.” The
common quality of fire and salt is that they change that with which they mix. The path that God lays out for us means that
we will come through the process changed.
As some have said, change is the only constant. If, as a Jesus follower, you aren’t being
transformed, something is wrong.
Jesus
then flips the salt metaphor and further teaches that we must have that same
transformative effect on each other. This
is Mark’s parallel teaching to Matthew’s “you are the salt of the earth.” (Matthew 5:13)
Not only is something wrong if we aren’t individually growing in our
faith, there is something wrong with the Christian community where the transformation
of people isn’t happening. In fact, it’s
nearly impossible for the former to happen without the latter.
I think
back to my life as a Christian teenager who was just beginning to own for
myself the faith of my parents before me. As I do, I am at once both amazed and
disappointed with myself. I’m amazed at
how strong my faith seems now when compared the shakiness of my teens. I’m amazed at how my understanding and experience
of God has expanded and deepened from the narrow-minded faith of my youth. I’m absolutely blown away by all the
difficulties and trials God has brought me through and how those very trials
brought the strength and expansion of my relationship to God. It has been an incredible journey.
But I’m
also disappointed in the fact that I still have some of the bad habits and attitudes
that have persisted since I was a boy. I
still struggle to show as much of the fruits of the Spirit as I think I should by
now. There are still people I really
struggle to love. And there are still moments
when my faith seems as shaky as it was when I was twelve. I note these disappointments and it seems
that I have farther to go now than when I started. Ironically, for someone who has been invited
by God to embrace eternity, this is exactly how it should be. The more you know, the more you know that you
don’t know. The more you grow, the more
you become aware of your need to grow even more. Everyone will be salted/tested with fire and
the Christian community is the very place where that salting/testing is
supposed to take place.
Question: How has
your faith changed/grown since you first decided to follow Jesus?
Prayer: God, thank
you for the way you have brought me through my life to this moment. Thank you for loving me through the joyful
and sorrowful times. Show me my growing
edges and teach me to trust You and Your community to accomplish that growth.
Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for people who are homeless right now facing extreme temperatures.
Song: I Have Decided
to Follow Jesus – Lydia Walker
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