God’s Coworkers: Redemption Agents
Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:13-16
You are the salt of the earth.
Today’s verse is simple: you and I are like salt crystals that God sprinkles into a fallen world. When Jesus spoke these words, salt was used as a preservative to keep meat from spoiling. Salt was also used in Jewish religious ceremonies to remind Israel that God had made a commitment to preserve his fallen world. Jesus was saying that we are the means God is using to preserve this broken world. You and I have opportunities to work as God’s agents of redemption, keeping this world from spoiling.
We know that God works through our work to accomplish his purposes. In many ways our daily work is like salt in an unseasoned world. I have a friend who is a lawyer, working for the state government. She says that it can be difficult to work among people who do not share her worldview. Yet she sees her work as a calling to bring Jesus’ voice of grace and truth into the arena of state government.
You may work in this way too. Perhaps you are a social worker or a family therapist. Some of us work as addiction counselors or in the prison system. These can be dark places where the effects of sin are painfully obvious. Yet God is the God of redemption, and Jesus, the one who accomplished the supreme work of redemption, continues to work through us, his salt.
Lord, thank you for your resolve to redeem the world you made. We praise you for continuing to bring your redemptive mercy; help us live and work as your preserving life in this world. Amen.
About the author — Rob Toornstra
Rob Toornstra has served as pastor of Sunnyslope Christian Reformed Church in Salem, Oregon, since 2006. When not busy with pastoral duties, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Amy, and their three children.
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