The salt of the earth.

Yesterday, after a spontaneous lunch with a good friend of mine, I had an even more spontaneous theological discussion with three men sitting next to me. These three men were people that I had never met nor seen before in my life, but I jumped right in anyways. One was a freshman, Jonathan, also a Christian; and the two other men were professors at Iowa State. The man sitting next to me believed himself to be an atheist, talking about why he had been driven away from the church but wanted so badly to believe in Christ. The other man sitting across from me was, I believe to be, a Christian; perhaps he was a believer, perhaps he wasn't. He spoke as a believer, so I assumed him to be one.

They were talking about the hypocracy of the church, as well as why they both had left it: people would go with smiles and laughs on Sunday morning, talking about God, and live the rest of the week acting as if He did not exist. These men were craving kindness, they were craving grace, and they were craving genuinity; above all else, they were craving to see Jesus through believers. As we spoke, I wanted these men to see the grace of God. There was this strong desire within me to tell them how much He loved them and wanted them, which I did. And I just wanted to keep talking about grace, which I also did. The Holy Spirit totally took over. We continued discussing what the church was to look like, as well as how we have the opportunity to become like Christ and that the law was abolished after Christ came until the two men had to leave to teach class.

The young man stayed behind to pray with me, and he talked to me more about God and life in general. Then, once he was gone, it hit me: How come it was so easy for me to talk about Jesus with these complete strangers, and yet I sometimes do not talk about Him with those that I am close to? Ouch. Conviction. It happened. The fact is this: I should always be talking about Jesus. After all, He is my entire purpose. So why not? Fear is no good reason, because it no longer has a hold over my life. I should always take advantage of spreading the gospel.

And yet, at the same time, how beautiful is it that God did use me to plant a seed in the hearts of these men? Not only that, but to show them His scandalous and ravishing grace. It's also a comfort to know that Jonathan, who is filled with so much knowledge of the Bible and is so grounded, is a brother in Christ. I can only pray now that the words that I said would help them to see Jesus; I pray that I can show the face of the Savior not just through my speech, but through everything that I do.

Sometimes it astounds me to know that God can use someone like me. It's crazy to me how He can give me the words to say to spread His love at the most random times. Well, random to me. He can put me in situations to show His grace and mercy, letting His light shine through the darkness in me - letting me be the salt of the earth.

The purpose of me writing this is to show you that God can always, always use you, even when you may feel useless. He can shine through you, even when you are facing a mountain of discouragement in your heart. Whenever you feel alone? There are brothers and sisters all around you, and He gives you Himself. He will use these opportunities to bring everyone to Himself. Let your life be used to be kind-hearted, humble, and give glory to the One who made it - to become more like Christ, who gave His own for you, for we are children of the light. Let Him lead you.

"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

- Matthew 5:13-16

"...but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect..."

- 1 Peter 3:15