The Arminian lady retorts, “And you must be Will cause you’re so free with compliments.”

(Too bad it misspelled the word “Arminian,” though.)

In a fun Christian gathering I attended, each person had to take a turn to answer this question: “If you had to choose to be one thing in this world, what do you want to be, and why?”

I thought it was an interesting question. Actually I wasn’t sure what I would respond, which is why I was glad my turn came almost toward the end. Well, someone answered he wanted to be “money,” another said “a pen” (perhaps to be an instrument in communicating truth?), while others came up with other creative, funny, wonderful ideas.

After pondering about it, I decided that I wish to be like salt! Why? Because salt has certain characteristic traits found in the kind of person I want to become.

First, salt causes a thirst. I’d like my conversation to cause others to thirst for more of God. I want to help others realize their need for the Living Water of Life — Who is Jesus Christ. I’m reminded Jesus once said, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever.” (John 4:13-14) Many have tried to find fulfillment and quench their “thirst” by turning to alcohol, drugs, money, fame, etc., though they only last but for a season. Matthew 5:13 says, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?” Therefore, I need to continually remind myself never to “water down” (compromise) my message, so that it may not lose its “saltiness” and impact.

Secondly, salt seasons food and makes things taste good. When I cook without salt, the dish tastes bland and appeals less to the appetite. The Bible tells us, “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” (Colossians 4:6) The first time I read this verse, I wasn’t sure what it means. But now I realize that when I share a message of God’s love to others or answer questions about my faith, I want to be able to communicate the Christian faith in a way that would be palatable to them — in a winsome, consistent, truthful, and reasonable way. My conversation should be “seasoned with salt” so that it not only causes others to thirst for more of God, but also contains an ingredient that makes an otherwise bland, solemn conversation about faith come alive.

Thirdly, I want to be like salt because it is a preservative. Salt can be used as a means to preserve food from spoiling. I hope my conversation can be used as a preservative to encourage others in times of trial, solidify them in their faith, and encourage them to persevere in “running the race” of life.

Fourthly, salt can also be used to melt ice. This is why some people may pour salt over the snow on their driveway. I want to be able to touch and inspire the hearts of others. I hope that God may use my words to soften the cold stony hearts of those who have hardened themselves toward Him, so that He may then mold their hearts and lives for Him.

Last but not least, salt has an ability to construct or hold things together. I didn’t know this at the time of the fellowship, but I learned only recently that salt can be used in everything imaginable. Did you know that salt is even used in the concrete they pour to pave streets? It keeps the cement from crumbling and cracking. Likewise, I know that my words should be constructive, not destructive.

Wow, talk about a multi-purpose ingredient! I have so much to learn and am in a lifelong process of learning to be like all the above — to be the “salt of the earth.” Meanwhile, I don’t think I could ever look at salt the same way again, though.

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?” —Matthew 5:13

One of my favorite authors, Dr. James R. White, made a good illustration about why faith comes to God with an empty hand. Not empty in the sense that it’s producing no fruits (or bad fruits), of course, but rather in the sense of knowing it has nothing to boast about before God’s holiness and perfection that can ever merit salvation. The possessor of such faith despairs of anything other than free, unmerited grace as the cause of his/her salvation. The sinner who clings upon Christ alone as Savior (not Christ and self) could not allow his/her heart to rear its ugly head and say, “I have done this or that to bring about my salvation.”

The hand that still clutches onto its own “good works” (or that carries within it any ideas of self-merits) will not find the hand of grace. Only the empty hand of faith fits into the powerful open hand of God’s grace.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” —Ephesians 2:8-9

Charles Spurgeon is one of my favorite preachers or authors. You’d have to be an articulate communicator for people to be quoting you decades later. And Spurgeon is one of those dynamic, erudite preachers who speaks with wit, humor, and poignancy. I heard the following quote from a friend in which Spurgeon wrote his rendition of an Arminian prayer. Granted, no self-proclaimed Arminian would ever admit to confessing such a prayer, but nevertheless the core meaning behind the words accurately reflects Arminian theology.

Spurgeon’s Rendition of the Arminian Prayer:

Fancy him praying, `Lord, I thank thee I am not like those poor presumptuous Calvinists. Lord, I was born with a glorious free will; I was born with power by which I can turn to thee of myself; I have improved my grace. If everybody had done the same with their grace that I have, they might all have been saved. Lord, I know thou dost not make us willing if we are not willing ourselves. Thou givest grace to everybody; some do not improve it, but I do. There are many that will go to hell as much bought with the blood of Christ as I was; they had as much of the Holy Ghost given to them; they had as good a chance, and were as much blessed as I am. It was not thy grace that made us differ; I know it did a great deal, still I turned the point; I made use of what was given me, and others did not — that is the difference between me and them.’

The great Reformed preacher George Whitefield once said, “Man is nothing: he hath a free will to go to hell, but none to go to heaven…till God worketh in him to will and to do His good pleasure.”

And Spurgeon also once said, an Arminian on his knees prays desperately like a Calvinist. :)

I am humbly thankful for God’s mercy in sparing me from what I do deserve (a just punishment in hell), and His grace in giving me what I do not deserve (an eternity with Him in heaven).

Thank You, God, for saving me. Even when I was dead in sin and could not respond to You and had not the will to do so, You made me spiritually alive first by changing my cold heart of stone with a new heart of flesh, that I may believe and have faith, and thus come freely and willingly to Christ. Thank You for Your saving grace which is invincible — which never fails to result in the salvation of all those to whom it is extended. Please grant me a heart of humility and the desire to pursue godliness and holiness. May my life be a testimony of Your grace and Your glory alone.

Welcome to my blog!  I look forward to post more soon.