One Bowl of Apricots or Two
A young psych student pulling kitchen duty in the Army noticed that apricots were not very popular in the chow hall, so he decided to conduct a little experiment. He stood at the end of the chow line and rotated offering the apricots to the soldiers three very different ways:
- “You don’t want apricots, do you?”
- “You want apricots, don’t you?”
- “Do you want one serving of apricots or two?
The results were fascinating. Ninety percent of those asked You don’t want apricots, do you? said No and declined receiving a serving.
Fifty percent of those asked You want apricots, don’t you? said Yes and received a serving.
Fifty percent of those asked if they wanted one serving of apricots or two said they’d take some, while forty percent said they’d take two! Only ten percent declined all together.
There is power in a good presentation! What is your demeanor when you invite others to consider the claims of Christ? Does it say, "You don't want to know about Jesus, do you?" It's no surprise that the vast majority of these invitations are declined. Or, does it say, "You do want to know about Jesus, right?" Or, are you so bold as to ask, "Do you want one serving or two"?
"Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see" (Matthew 22:9).
Be Salt
Table salt, sodium chloride, is a naturally occurring mineral essential for life. Salt is one of the most widely used and oldest forms of food seasoning. Saltiness is one of the five basic human tastes in addition to sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and umami.
Salt also plays a crucial role in maintaining human health. It is the main source of sodium and chloride ions in the human diet. Sodium is essential for nerve and muscle function, is involved in the regulation of fluids in the body, and plays a role in the body’s control of blood pressure and volume.
Chloride ions serve as important electrolytes by regulating blood pH and pressure. Electrolytes are compounds, often salts, which dissociate into their ionic components in solvents like water. Chloride is also a crucial component in the production of stomach acid. We secrete salt when sweating and need to replenish the lost ions through our diet.
All animals require some salt to survive.
We consume foods that naturally contain salt or add salt as a seasoning. However, some terrestrial animals have diets deficient in salt. These animals must seek supplemental salt sources. Farm animals such as horses and cattle require access to salt blocks. Wild mammals and birds are known to aggregate at natural mineral deposits known as salt licks where they can ingest the essential sodium and chloride minerals they need to survive.
We live in an environment that shows that the earth needs salt - not only naturally - but supernaturally, i.e. spiritually.
When we live as the salt He says we are, we will be used by Him to meet the earth's needs, just as salt has mutilfacted ways of blessing humanity and creation.
In a world that so desparately needs flavor, preservation, balance, and healing ... BE SALT!
“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" (Matthew 5:13, ESV).
Shining Through the Prism of the True Light
According to Britannica Kids, the simplest explanation of a prism is:
... a piece of glass or other see-through material that has several flat sides called faces. Prisms can be made in many forms and shapes. Light travels in the form of waves. Some light waves have long wavelengths while others have short wavelengths. Each wavelength produces a different color of light. Usually, all the wavelengths of light blend together to form light, but when light enters a prism, it bends. Light waves of different wavelengths bend by different amounts. The longest wavelengths bend the least. The shortest wavelengths bend the most. This bending separates the light waves so each color can be seen. This band of colors - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet - is called a spectrum.
Jesus has called us to be the Light of the World.
Light not only brings out the beauty in the rest of creation, it exposes the rest of creation to the true light ... Jesus himself!
As disciples of the True Light, we each shine on different wavelengths, with different gifts and abilities. And those who are exposed to our shining will receive that light as uniquely as we deliver it.
So when we as believers shine our lights, we blend together so that those who so desperately need light exposure will have the opportunity - no matter where they are on the spectrum - to see the Light!
“You are the light of the world. ... let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:14-16, NIV).
"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life'" (John 8:12, NIV).