| “Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another” (Mark 9:50). |
| As we have already seen, it is very important to have balance in our Christian life. If we go to extremes in any direction, we are usually wrong. Today’s verse teaches us once again to be balanced in spiritual things. |
| We have seen that salt in the Bible speaks of holy grace, and that just the right amount of it in our conversation can bring God’s claims before other people. Here in this verse we are told to have salt in ourselves. That means that we are always to keep before our hearts and minds the importance of God’s claims over us, and over others too. We should want to involve the Lord in all our dealings in this world, whether with believers or unbelievers. |
| Before the days of antibiotics, salt was often used to prevent infection, and was put on wounds for this reason. It worked well, for it tends to stop germs from multiplying and causing serious infection. But when salt is placed on a wound it really stings for a few minutes. This is how the Word of God affects people too; it sometimes stings them, for it speaks to their consciences. Many people do not like that, for it reminds them that they are responsible to God for their behavior. However, sometimes this use of salt is necessary, just as it was in natural things, to prevent infection. |
| But then, at the end of our verse, it tells us to have peace one with another. We should never forget to use salt, but we should do our best to live in peace with each other. This is the balance we need — never to use too much salt, or too little. In Jeremiah 6:14, the Lord had to say to some, “They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.” This means that they had overlooked serious sin in order to have peace, and we should never do this. God never makes peace with sin; rather, He wants us to confess it to Him, so that He can forgive us in the right way. |
| However, as much as possible, we are to “have peace one with another.” We can overlook things that may offend us personally, and things that do not involve the Lord’s honor and glory. Our Lord Jesus did the same when He was on earth. When the Jews said to Him, “Thou are a Samaritan, and hast a devil” (John 8:48), the Lord Jesus ignored the personal insult of calling Him a Samaritan. But He answered the accusation of His having a devil, for that was really saying that His miracles were being done by Satan’s power instead of by the power of God. How important it is to use spiritual salt wisely! |
