Salted by Fire

Trials. We all face them and I doubt many of us enjoy them, but it’s through our trials, our life hurdles and our mistakes that Christians are molded into people who are more Christ-like in character.

When we go through our difficult seasons, we have to ask God, “What do you want me to learn from this?” When we make mistakes, we have to be willing to change and do things differently.

On Sunday afternoon, I promised to help a friend out with a project. I fully intended to do what I said I would do, but got sidetracked, and did not realize I missed helping my friend until over 24 hours later. I felt terrible! But there was nothing I could do about my faux pas, except to learn from it. I did not write the appointment down, nor did I set a reminder, and realized in the midst of a busy schedule, I have to do both for all weekend appointments.

I learned from my error, prayed my friend will forgive me, and hoped to be a better, more reliable person in the future. I desire to be Christ-like to the people around me.

In Mark 9:49, it says “Everyone will be salted with fire” but what does that mean? Doesn’t fire destroy, and salt preserve?

It is God’s way of saying our lives are purified and preserved when we are tested through the fiery trials of life. Our fiery trials often intercept us when we are headed down a wrong road. Many times, our fiery trials drive us to our knees. Our fiery trials are sometimes used by God to get our attention when our connection with him is faint.

Through our fiery trials, God is salting us and preserving us, because on our own, we don’t always choose the righteous path. He’s preserving us so our relationship with him does not spoil, and so it does not have to be thrown away.

When we look back over our mistakes and fiery trials, didn’t we learn something from each one? For many of us, didn’t they draw us closer to our Father in Heaven?

While sometimes the heat seems more intense than we can bear, God is purifying us to be more like his son. In 1 Corinthians 3:13, the Apostle Paul says we all go through one last refining fire: “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.”

My prayer is that at the end of my life I will have learned from all the fiery trials throughout my existence, and that because of being repeatedly salted by fire, there won’t be as much waste to burn up.

How about you? What does being salted by fire mean in your life? (LBW)