Something's missing

It was going to be my first culinary masterpiece.  No.  Another culinary masterpiece.  I was going to make the pot of beans of my life.  I was going to slow cook them overnight in fresh vegetables and spices and the whole church would crown me the 'king of potluck'.

Hyperbole aside, I was very hopeful for the pot of beans I was making.  I had diced up fresh onions and green peppers.  I had carefully stirred in ground cumin and other Mexican spices.  With a touch of olive oil to give it a final touch the crock pot was set to simmer my beans overnight and I went to bed a few hours later with the smell of Latin glory beginning to emanate from the lid of the pot.  I was filled with self-satisfaction.

The next morning the air was filled with the smell of deliciousness.  Olfactory reminders of what was stewing in the kitchen came wafting to my room to awaken my half conscious slumber.  Unable to bear the suspense of not knowing how the beans had fared overnight I got up and headed straight for the kitchen.  Upon arriving my nose assured me that I had done something right, but as I opened the pot and set aside my trial portion my palate began to tell me a different story.  Each bite from the tasting bowl was filled with a flavor that was dishearteningly mediocre.  That's right.  My beans were just mediocre.

What had gone wrong?  I thought I had added everything.  I went down my mental checklist of all I had put in.  All of the quality ingredients I had planned on had made it in.  How had I failed so miserably? Then upon testing them one more time I realized my error.  I had forgotten to add salt.  That's what was missing.  Just a little bit of salt.

In retrospect I am amazed at how few of those little white granules was required to liven up a whole pot of beans.  The transformation was incredible.  Just a few shakes of my not-so-magical salt shaker had turn an otherwise forgettable pot of beans into the Mexican masterpiece I had envisioned all along.  The salt had awakened all the flavors that were already there and waiting to be released.  I was thrilled once again.  My taste buds were doing a Mexican hat dance and I could go the potluck knowing that I, yes I the pastor himself, had made a delicious contribution to our midday feast.  I had been saved from embarrassment by just a pinch of salt.

Matthew 5:13 says "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men."  In this passage God is calling us to be salt in this world.  We are supposed to be that special something in the experience of others.  He has filled our world with many good things but He wants to use us to awaken the flavors He has put into this life.  You can be a catalyst for all the beauty and good God longs for others to experience.  You can be that salt if you let Him into your life and show you how you can make an impact in the lives of others.  It doesn't take much, just a little of you as the Spirit shakes you out of His divine salt shaker.