Diluted Discipleship

July 6

(Luke 14:34-35 NIV) ““Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? {35} It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear.””

(Matthew 5:10-13 NIV) “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. {11} "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. {12} Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. {13} "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”

Christians are the salt of the Earth. Genuine disciples do not dilute or pollute their saltiness. Everything we withhold from God dilutes or pollutes our life. It’s not what we give up to God that matters -- it’s what we decide to keep. It’s not what we surrender that causes us to stray and fade -- it’s what we won’t give up. The stuff we hoard and protect causes our salt to lose its saltiness. And when we lose our saltiness, our witness becomes ineffective. We lose the ability to affect those around us for Jesus. Selective discipleship is not a possibility in the eyes of Christ. There is no bargaining, bartering, or finagling. When we decide to become a follower of Christ, we must go all in. It’s a blood oath, with Christ providing the blood up front. We may even have to do some bleeding of our own. Are you willing to do that? If not, Jesus says we will eventually end up in the dirt or the manure pile. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day