“Whether it’s a feeling of joy or a piece of pecan pie — when you savor something, you enjoy it to the fullest. When you savor something, you enjoy it so much that you want to make it last forever. With that in mind, savor carries a connotation of doing something slowly. If you savor that flourless chocolate tart, then you eat it slowly, bit by bit, deliberately picking every last crumb off the plate. The word is often applied to eating, but you can savor any pleasurable experience, whether it’s the winning touchdown or your moment in the spotlight” (Vocabulary.com).
Have we not been with people that we savored? They are so gracious and joyful—they are fun to be with!
The Salt of the Earth
The same is true in the spiritual realm. Because of their experience with Jesus, some people bring out the God-flavors of kindness and mercy wherever they go.
Jesus said that his followers are the salt of the earth.
“The savor of the salt represents the vital power of the Christian—the love of Jesus in the heart, the righteousness of Christ pervading the life. The love of Christ is diffusive and aggressive. If it is dwelling in us, it will flow out to others. We shall come close to them till their hearts are warmed by our unselfish interest and love. The sincere believers diffuse vital energy, which is penetrating and imparts new moral power to the souls for whom they labor. It is not the power of the man himself, but the power of the Holy Spirit that does the transforming work” (Mount of Blessing, p. 36).
Christ’s true followers are like granules of salt sprinkled throughout the earth to infuse it with life. Where God is there is life, joy and healing.
Flavorless Christians
Salt that loses its “savor” is both disappointing and worthless. Without its flavor-enhancing qualities, it serves no purpose.
“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless” (Matthew 5:13, NLT).
Throughout Christendom and Evangelicalism today, many have lost their “savor.” They no longer diffuse the vital energy of Christ. They have replaced their zeal for God with selfishness and political prowess. They think their opposition to sin and sinners is equivalent to the positive qualities of godliness, but in reality, they are taking God’s name in vain.
“Without a living faith in Christ as a personal Savior, it is impossible to make our influence felt in a skeptical world. We cannot give to others that which we do not ourselves possess. It is in proportion to our own devotion and consecration to Christ that we exert an influence for the blessing and uplifting of mankind. If there is no actual service, no genuine love, no reality of experience, there is no power to help, no connection with heaven, no savor of Christ in the life.
Unless the Holy Spirit can use us as agents through whom to communicate to the world the truth as it is in Jesus, we are as salt that has lost its savor and is entirely worthless. By our lack of the grace of Christ we testify to the world that the truth which we claim to believe has no sanctifying power; and thus, so far as our influence goes, we make of no effect the word of God” (Mount of Blessing, p. 36).
Bait-and-Switch Effort
The prophetic “Fall of Babylon” represents the closing chapter of a “bait-and-switch” effort by evil to substitute darkness for light, cruelty for mercy, fake news for truth, and Satan for God! The only way out of this is to willingly expose our hearts to the God of life for complete renewal and transformation.
“When love fills the heart, it will flow out to others, not because of favors received from them, but because love is the principle of action. Love modifies the character, governs the impulses, subdues enmity, and ennobles the affections. This love is as broad as the universe, and is in harmony with that of the angel workers. Cherished in the heart, it sweetens the entire life and sheds its blessing upon all around. It is this, and this only, that can make us the salt of the earth” (Mount of Blessing, p. 38).
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