Sharing God's Love

I am a huge foodie. I have been my entire life.

So much so that, when I was younger, my mom always thought that I would become a food critic when I grew up because I enjoyed every meal that she lay before me. Friends who know me well know how much I love food because of how vocal I am whenever I eat a good burger or how excited I get when I talk about a good meal I've had at a new or favorite restaurant.

And I'm not the only one! Society has made food such a popular topic. Today, we are unable to avoid seeing at least one picture of someone's brunch, lunch or dinner as you scroll through your Instagram newsfeed because they want to share just how wonderful their meal was (beauty and taste) with their friends, family, and even strangers (based on their following). Some people make it their entire lives posting about foods they've found at restaurants all over the world, and we, as a following, gobble it up! (Pun very much intended.)

Wouldn't it be amazing if we put the same kind of zeal in our conversations with the people we come in contact with every day when we share the Gospel?

Colossians 4:5-6 says this: "Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." There's a lot to this verse, but, if it weren't for a dear friend opening my eyes to the importance of our speech being seasoned with salt, I might have missed the importance of this statement altogether.

Seasoned with salt - what does this mean? John Piper says this, "I take [seasoned with salt] to mean that what we say about Christ and about the Christian life should be made as appetizing as possible."

Our speech should be appealing to those we talk to. Just as those who get excited about sharing with others about how tasty a meal or treat was for them, so should we, as Christians, be excited about sharing the incredible news about Christ with everyone around us!

If I am so passionate to share with my friends about how great of a burger I had one day at Chili's (I was really hungry that day), I should be more passionate when I share about how God sent His Son down to save not only my sins, but to the person I'm talking to as well! And just as we would hate to have a meal with no seasoning, so would those be unmoved should we talk about the most exciting aspect of our lives with a monotone demeanor. 

In other words, we need to be salty. ❤

Being salty (in the good sense of the word) may be a challenge for most. It takes a lot of courage for us to get out of our comfort zone when we talk to others about our faith, especially when Christianity as a religion is being attacked.

However, when we share just how amazing God is and how excited we are about our salvation found in Christ, those that you talk to should see just how passionate we are about our faith and how appetizing they may find it to be for them because of that passion! 

To be clear, only God saves. Nothing we say or do can save a person's life spiritually. Matthew 19 says "'Who then can be saved?' Jesus looked at [the disciples] and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'"

It is only God through us that a person can be saved. He uses us as a vessel to share the Good News with those around us, and as His vessels we should be wise in our speech and be as "salty" as we can be when sharing it! Through us, God can heal all hearts. The least we can do is be excited about sharing how He saved us and how He loves us to those in our oikos (sphere of influence).

"How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!'” Romans 10:14-15

A month into the new year, I am dedicating 2018 to breaking out of my comfort zone and building up my speech to be seasoned with salt every time I speak the Good News to everyone.

I dedicate this year to living a salty life and I encourage those who want to be more passionate about sharing God's love for all of mankind to do the same. 

Let's go unafraid into the world and be unashamed to share the Gospel. Let's be salty together.

✔ follow the gorgeous Lydia