Volume 2: Thoughts on being a Salty Disciple

Please bare with me and read these scriptures so I can tell you what I’m thinking.

Luke 14:25-34

25Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. 27And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'
31"Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
34"Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.
"He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

Before we become a follower of Jesus we need to think about the costs and determine if we’re willing to do what He says or not. Because we all know how awful it is to start something and not finish it. Living for Christ is a life-long journey. He wants to make sure that we’re willing to serve Him all our life. It is an awesome thing if we choose to serve Jesus. If we do decide to be a disciple, He promises that His yoke is easier and His burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-30

28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

So if we do choose to serve Him we’re going to have troubles and tribulations but He’s always going to be there by our side.

So in this scripture I think it is talking about being a disciple and what is like if you suddenly decide to give up being a disciple. If you don’t want to be his disciple you can’t be salty anymore. Then you would be good for nothing. If you think about it that really makes sense. It's kind of like salt preserving a ham. Without that salt the ham is going to get all moldy and gross. You can kind of think of the salt as faith in Christ or His Holy Spirit that He gives us. When we follow Him and do what He asks.

In the below scripture, Jesus is talking about why we should remain in him
The Vine and the Branches.

John 15:1-17

1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.

The Lord wants everybody to be His disciple. He has given everybody a chance to know and serve Him. He is loving and merciful He doesn’t want anybody to perish.

John 3:16-21

16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send
his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands
condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only
Son. 19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved
darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does
evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds
will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that
it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

2 Peter 3:9

9Lord…is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to
repentance.

Don’t just listen to my opinions, check the Bible and see for yourself.

S.R. Harris