A Cold Heart, Are You Helping Or Hindering It?

As I was driving in to work today, I noticed that the road crews had laid down a mixture of salt and sand on the freshly plowed roads. This week we in Oklahoma have seen one of the worst winter storms in the history of our state. With temperatures below zero (actual temp, not with wind chill factored in) and anywhere from 12 to 20 inches of snow dumped on us in less than 24 hours, it has been crazy.

As I was thinking about the salt helping to melt the ice and snow on the roads, the Holy Spirit quickened a Scripture to my heart. It's found in Matthew 5:13-14, which says, "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. You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden."

What do salt and sunlight do when working together? They cause the ice to melt faster than it normally would on its own. That's when it hit me! One of the meanings of this passage of Scripture and what Jesus could have meant when He said it is that when we combine being salt and light, we cause the frozen heart of the unbeliever to melt.

What is one of the main complaints that people who are not Christians have? There are so many hypocrites in churches why would I want to be a part of that? So let me ask you, (and myself too) what are you doing to help melt the hearts of unbelievers? When you are at a restaurant and the wait staff doesn't get your order just right, how do you handle that? As salt and light, or more like sandpaper just making your presence known in as abrasive a manner as possible?

What if instead of getting all bent out of shape when the person in front of you in the 20 items or less checkout line has 22 items, you offer to pay for their groceries and then tell them that Jesus loves them and just wanted to make Himself real to them? Or what about when you're driving down the road and get cut off in traffic? Instead of yelling and acting the fool (raise your hand if you've ever done that, mine is raised) you just prayed for that person. Especially if you are sporting some type of Christian imagery on your bumper or back glass.

This goes beyond the "What Would Jesus Do?", it is what would you do if you actually acted like you were salt and shined the "Sonlight" on those around you like Jesus said? Do you suppose that we could melt the hearts of those hurting and dying souls out there, and maybe, just maybe lead them to Christ instead of driving them away? It's just a thought...get 'em up folks, and let's go whip something for the Kingdom!