Shalom,
There is no one else but the Lord who knows the depth of our sinful and wicked hearts. That is why we need to listen, to keep and to abide on the word of God so that the Holy Spirit might engrave our hearts and that our praise may be worthy and acceptable before the Lord. In whatever way we do our service, whether it is online or onsite, the Lord is always present.
The topic of the word of God this time is about the price to be the follower of Christ. Speaking about price, whenever we go shopping, usually we always seek great quality items but in low price. We will definitely calculate the profit and loss when we buy something expensive.
What price should we pay to be the follower of Christ according to the Gospel of Luke 14: 25-35?
“And He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be disciple…So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple. Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (vv. 25-27, 33-35)
In front of the multitude that came to Him, Jesus firmly said the “price” of being His disciple. What is it? The price that we must make is written in the phrase “forsake all that he has” which is also related to the salt in it. When listening to His explanation, they who heard it felt impossible to comply with such a high price just to be His disciple. Thankfully, at the end He said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” This is a chance and prerequisite for us to be His disciple. Let us not, however, lose hope quickly nor feel proud of ourselves that we have become His disciples just because we attend the church service diligently and faithfully or perhaps we are graduates of Theology College. Does it guarantee that we will be Jesus’ disciples?
We have to ensure that after we listen to the word of God, we have the courage to move forward to become His disciples because the Lord will never force us. He just wants us to be His disciples. Then we must give the best present to Him, namely our ears which are ready to listen to the word of God instead of listening to gossips. By heeding the word of God, our faith will certainly grow (Romans 10:17) and we shall apply into our daily life how to live as Jesus’ disciple.
After Jesus challenged us to love Him more than our parents, families and relatives and to bear our own cross, why did He proceed to talk about the cost to build a tower and about a king calculating the power of his army before he goes to the battle against his enemy? He also reminds us that whoever does not forsake all that he has will not be able to be His disciples? This shows us the terms to be His disciples. Illustration: One who enrolls in Education major is required to submit some academic documents. After he becomes a student, his lecturers will then educate him with the hope that someday he will be able to pass on all the knowledge to his students in the future. In reality, the majority of Jesus’ disciples turned their back and followed Him no more after hearing Him said that whoever ate the flesh of the Son of Man and drank His blood would have life in them (John 6: 53).
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear” is written six times in Matthew 13: 9, 43; Mark 4: 9. 23; Luke 8: 8; 14: 35 and also to seven churches in Asia who were warned by Him, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 2: 7, 11, 17, 29; 3: 6, 13, 22). It is clear that we must listen to the Spirit of truth because He will guide us into all truth (John 16: 13). We must have faith in every verse we read in the Bible and shall change nothing carelessly because the more we understand and mediate on the word of God, the more we become humble and feel that we are nothing without His grace.
Next, Jesus talked about salt. What is so important about it? As it turns out, salt in the Old Testament is related to the eternal promise with God. For example: every offering of grain must be seasoned with the salt of the covenant of God (Leviticus 2: 13); every offering given by the Israelites to the Lord was a covenant of salt forever (Numbers 18: 19). This covenant of salt was taken advantage by the priests in giving their offering to Him. In other words, there is a relationship between the priests, God and the covenant of salt.
So, who is the salt that Jesus was referring to? When He was preaching on the hill, Jesus said to His disciples, “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.” (Matthew 5: 13).
What is the connection between the salt and us personally and our family? The covenant of salt reminded the Israelites that God gave dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons by a covenant of salt (2 Chronicles 13: 4-5). This covenant of salt is amazing! Not only it belongs to the descendants of Aaron but also of David’s, that is Jesus who will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of His kingdom until no end and to our descendants (Luke 1: 31-33).
Application: As priests who serve Him and as Abraham’s seeds by faith (Galatians 3: 29), we too, have covenant of salt with God that is related to His eternal Kingdom.
Logically, a student will receive all the knowledge skills gradually. As he gets to the higher level, he will gain more knowledge. If we don’t want to learn, we will be the same as the salt that has lost its flavor. What is the purpose of it then? We need to know that Jesus did not let His disciples (and also us) in confusion because of their (our) ignorance but as the Teacher, He guided them (and us) to understand His teaching.
We are the salt of the earth, not the salt of the church, an organization nor just a mere salt of the family. Back then we imagine that it would be hard to fulfill the great will of the Lord to be His witness in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1: 8) but now with the help of technology, we can reach all those remote and unreachable places.
Ironically, salt is one of the needed items that we often overlook, put in small-unattractive container. The truth is, salt is very precious when we look at the benefits of it. Salt is needed for the well-being of mankind but also to make our dish tastier.
Application: Salt is eternally valuable; if we become the disciple of the Lord, we will receive His salvation so that we shall not perish. We have to be the salt of the world whatever it takes. We shall be the precious salt and bring influence wherever we go.
Still related to the precious salt, there was a story about an enemy who was being held captive by a king. As the king spared his life, he then asked the king what he had to do because he had eaten the salt of the palace—to be bound in loyalty to the king (Ezra 4: 14; ASV). This enemy realized that he had experienced the kindness from the king, so he had to be loyal in serving the king.
Salt is a gift from Heaven, and there are so many types of it, such as: salt of the sea, the salt in the kitchen, crystal salt, the salt for the pool and so forth. Salt (especially salt of the sea) is processed first so that it can be in a better quality. The Lord wants us to be His disciples who are so precious, starting from our household and then we spread it to others.
What was the reaction of Peter, Andrew, James and John when Jesus called them to follow Him? They immediately left their father and boat and followed Him (Mark 1: 16-20). Were they being disrespectful towards their parents, wives and families? No. What was the effect? To Peter who had left all, Jesus said he would receive a hundredfold now in this time and in the age to come, eternal life (Mark 10: 28-30).
Who are our brothers and sisters? When His mother and brothers came seeking Him, they called Him out of His mind. Jesus said that His mother and brothers are those who do the will of God (Mark 3: 21, 31-35). So, our brothers and sisters are those who come and listen to His word.
Application: As the salt of the world, whether it is inside or outside our household, we better maintain our taste to be salty and keep doing our duty to make the nation His people. Have we, despite all the struggles, seasoned those who haven’t known the Lord yet? How much percentage of Indonesian has actually known the Lord? Or do we lack salt ourselves? A man who is seasoned with salt will always speak with grace (Colossians 4: 6) and will live in peace with one another (Mark 9: 50).
Are we willing to be His disciples? For that, we, first, need to love Him and with His love we then can love (not just an emotion) our husbands or wives, children, brothers and friends. Remember, Jesus loves us until His demise and He even loved Judas Iscariot although Judas left and chose his own way (John 13: 1, 21, 30). Let us also love to read and listen to the word of God, then the Holy Spirit will strengthen those verses in us.
As the salt of the world, surely we will not demand others to respect us or to glorify us. However, let us introspect whether we have been useful to those around us. May we be His witnesses through our words, behaviors and actions so that many people could be seasoned and receive the promise of salvation from the Lord. Amen.