Echoes Into Eternity - Relational Discipleship
Chapter 9 Relational Discipleship
After graduating from Naval Flight Training and getting my Wings, I moved to Whidbey Island Washington and where I was assigned to Attack Squadron 128, VA-128, the Fleet Training Squadron for the A-6 Intruder, the Navy’s All-Weather Attack jet. With a crew of a pilot and a bombardier/navigator, the A-6 was the most sophisticated aircraft of its time and one we never gave to another country.
This A6 Intruder was assigned to my first squadron VA-52. My logbook shows more than 12 flights in this jet during 1977.
This twin engine aircraft could fly low level through mountainous terrain safely and in foul weather, using an internal navigation system that could accurately guide us to a target, with a state-of-the-art ground mapping radar that could pick out bridges, powerlines, buildings, bends in rivers, buildings, and vehicles. The entire system could deliver weapons within 50 feet of the bullseye almost 100% of the time, without ever having to see the ground. Nose to tail length was 54 feet with a 53 foot wingspan. The A-6 had a combat range of over 1000 miles, could carry 14,000 lbs. of assorted bombs, rockets and missiles and fly over 600 mph.
Attack Squadron 52 flying past Mt Rainer with Cdr Daryl Kerr in the Lead with Ltjg Bagby as #2 (port wing)
After weeks of learning the systems of this $28,000,000 aircraft, I took my first flight in the Intruder on July 10, 1975. The Cascade Mountains and the flat terrain of eastern Washington and Oregon provided the perfect landscape for the mission of the Intruder along with the often rainy overcast climate of the Pacific Northwest. Now I was training for what I would do in my role as a Naval Aviator- all-weather attack, delivering bombs, rockets, missiles and even nuclear weapons on enemy targets in any weather at any time of day. It was a very specific mission, requiring specific skills and disciplines.
As Disciples of Jesus, we have come to understand the many facets of being a disciple, what the walk of a disciple looks like, what disciplines we are to develop, and what the culture of the Kingdom is that we are a part of.
But what do Disciples do? That was my question in the spring of 1982 as I became part of the Hope Chapel community on Maui. I was going to the church services on Sunday, and helping out with the chair set up ministry, along with handing out the church bulletins at the door. I became part of a small group that met at Diane Daniel’s home on Wednesday night. I started putting money in the offering. But what was the bigger picture of the role of a Disciple?
That’s when I came across this portion of Scripture found at the end of the book of Matthew.
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
This is a passage of Scripture that is often called the “Great Commission”. It is where missionaries have traditionally gotten their marching orders to go to other countries and evangelize unreached people.
As a new follower of Jesus, I first heard this Great Commission message at a video concert at the Lahaina Civic Center on Maui by a famous Christian singer, Keith Green, who’s latest album was titled “Jesus Commands Us To Go!”. There were many missionaries at the concert that afterward showed me numerous opportunities to go make disciples of all the nations.
I was so excited the next day I told my cousin Kean Salzer that I was ready to become a missionary and go to any place on Earth and tell the people about Jesus. Kean was my mentor at the time and a principal source of information of what the Christian life was to be. I had known him most of my life and was very close to him and his wife Shelly. They were the ones responsible for inviting me to Hope Chapel, and once I received Jesus as my Lord in the fall of 1981.
When I told Kean how excited I was be become a missionary, he looked at me and with a smile asked me: “How would you like to go to an island in the Pacific where less than five percent of the people attend church on Sunday?”
I responded excitedly: “Let’s go!”.
He calmly said: “You are standing on it!”
In the early 1980’s, church attendance on Maui was incredibly low. It took a moment, but I got the message. Maui was a good place to share the Good News.
I didn’t have to “go”. I was already “there”.
Keith Green proclaimed in that convert that ‘Jesus commands us to go!” I wanted to go, but realized that I was already in a place that needed evangelistic efforts. Should I leave the island to travel to a foreign country or should I stay on Maui and get involved in making disciples there?
It was a few years later in my studies that I understood why the Great Commission is often misunderstood as a command to pack your bags, leave your home, and go work in a foreign culture. When you read the Greek text in English, it may appear to be just that, especially with that command to ‘go’. Fortunately, I have access to a few good Greek- English dictionaries that helped me understand the essence of the Great Commission. There are a few words in the famous passage that should be understood in their original context.
Go: poreúomai; aorist participle; To transport oneself, to go from one place to another; To proceed on a journey; To live in a certain way.
Make Disciples: mathēteuō; aorist imperative tense; to be a disciple of one, to follow his precepts and instructions; To make a disciple (with forceor coercion) ; to teach, instruct.
Baptizing: baptízō; future tense participle; to dip. Immerse, submerge for a religious purpose, to overwhelm, saturate, baptize.
Teaching: didáskō; future tense participle; to know or teach; instruct by word of mouth
These are the four verbs in the Great Commission: Go, Make, Teach and Baptize. Which of those four is the central command?
‘Go’ is an aorist participle: simple action verbal adjective that modifies another action.
‘Baptizing’ and ‘Teaching’ are continuous future action verbs.
‘Make Disciples’ is the aorist imperative, which is a command for doing something in the future that is a simple action.
Of the four verbs in this passage (Go, make, teach, baptize) this word mathēteuō is only verb in the Imperative, command form. The other three verbs are in the “ future continuous action” form.
The final significant word, often translated “Nations” is Ethnos: a race, nation, people group.
Putting all these concepts together, and understanding the grammar, we hear Jesus literally saying:
“All Authority in the Universe has been given to me. Since these things are so, proceed on the journey that you began with me and take yourself to the places I direct you and disciple the races and ethnic people groups that you find yourself with, baptizing them and teaching them all the things I told you. Remember, I will be with you always as you do this.”
I like the last part: Jesus will be with us always as we make, baptize and teach disciples.
Wherever in the world that we happen to be going, Jesus commands us to be about the business of making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them the Word of God. It is that direct, and that simple.
John records that after Jesus’ resurrection, Peter, feeling the shame of denying that he knew Jesus three times at Caiaphas’ house, decides that he is returning to his profession of fishing. The other disciples decide to travel to Galilee and join him. They fish all night and catch nothing, and at dawn they see a man on the shore who tells them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. When they do, their net fills with 153 fish, a scene reminiscent of Peter’s original miracle catch a few years earlier, where Jesus call him to become a ‘fisher of men’ with Him. Peter realizes that it is Jesus and jumps out of the boat and heads to shore.
So when they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have now caught.” 11 Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.
12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples ventured to question Him, “Who are You?” knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise. 14 This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead. John 21:9-14
Remember that in Biblical culture, you only eat with your friends. Jesus is sending a message to Peter: ‘Even though you denied knowing me, we are still friends.’
Now Jesus is going to remind Peter the two-part principle of Discipleship.
15 So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus *said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He *said to him, “Tend My lambs.” 16
He *said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.”
17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus *said to him, “Tend My sheep.
18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.”
19 Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He *said to him, “Follow Me!”
20 Peter, turning around, *saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” 21 So Peter seeing him *said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?”
22 Jesus *said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” John 21:15-22
Here Jesus gave Peter his marching orders for the rest of his life:
“Take care of my sheep that I entrust to you, and continue following my lead in your life.”
Principle: Jesus has called us to follow Him and shepherd the disciples that He brings us.
Jesus also told Peter how he will make disciples of those whom Jesus brings to him- he will be a shepherd to them.
This is a radical change in Peter’s job description. As a fisherman, he throws out his net, hauls in the fish, unloads them into baskets and take them to the market to sell them. He’s done with these fish and goes out the next night to net some more.
Shepherding is different. He must now care for the sheep. He must be in relationship with the disciples that Jesus brings him, spend quality time with them, help them understand the culture of the Kingdom, pray with them that they will stay on the path of obedience to the King, help them work out their issues, and lead them by modeling the Christian life.
Principle: Fishing and Shepherding are two very different professions. Fishermen have no relationship with the fish. Shepherds know their sheep and they sheep know the voice of the shepherd.
Peter understood the difference as we can see from his letter to his fellow shepherds:
Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, 2 shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; 3 nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. 1 Peter 5:1-3
The First stage in Discipleship is Being a Disciple of Jesus. Now the second stage is the natural progression of every true disciple: Making Disciples. Paul communicated a similar message to his disciple Timothy.
You have heard me teach many things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Teach these great truths to trustworthy people who are able to pass them on to others. 2 Timothy 2:2 NLT
There are many modern formulas for discipleship. Some involve heavy-handed authoritarian oversight of new converts, while others focus on simply numbers of personal commitments to Christ. These programs often set aside time in the week for “disciple-making activities” that will bring people into the church in a focused, systematic manner. Building the Kingdom becomes a “program” that if we put in our time, and follow the formula, that will bring “great numbers” into our local churches.
The Biblical record suggests another manner: Relational Discipleship.
We see it in the life of Jesus, and in the lives of the brothers and sisters of the Early Church. Some of my most significant learning experiences in life have followed thier model of relational discipleship.
When I was in flight training in the Navy, one valuable skill that we had to acquire was flying in formation with other airplanes– we’re talking “Blue Angels” tight formations.
My first attempt at flying six feet from the wingtip of the lead aircraft resulted in wild, dangerous gyrations, until my instructor took over and showed me how it was done– with gentle movements of the stick and throttle.
Then he told me to place my right hand on the stick and left hand on the throttle so that I could feel his smooth movements. Soon he told me that I was to control the jet, with his hands monitoring my movements. After many minutes of this, he told me look back in the mirrors. I did, and to my surprise, he was holding his hands high over his head, off the controls. I had been was flying six feet from the lead aircraft all by myself!
Think back on how you have acquired a skill or knowledge by working with another person. It’s a process that here on Earth usually involves four steps, in this order:
1) I do it;
2) I do it with You;
3) You do it with Me;
4) You do it.
This is the basic process where you personally pass on skill to another person through a working relationship.
My experience learning to fly in formation followed these basic steps. My pastor on Maui, Craig Englert, first articulated this process to me in 1982, after we had been spending time together. Craig is the master of relational discipleship. He first invited me to a Bible study. Once he discovered that I could play guitar, he asked me to “help him lead worship”. After a few weeks, he asked me to pick out the songs and he would help me. Finally, one night he announced that now I would lead worship myself. The four-step process was complete!
Michael & Craig on Mt Arbel Israel, 2006
My first intensive weapons training in the Navy happened at El Centro California in November 1975, far from our home base in Whidbey Island Washington. El Centro was in the desert of Southern California near the Salton Sea where the Navy had many ringed targets with spotting towers. We were there for two weeks of isolation and concentrated training- away from family, friends, and other distractions. At our base on Whidbey Island, we spent time in the classroom learning the theory of visual dive bombing. Now was the time for the practical application.
The schedule at El Centro involved two flights a day, and sometimes one of them was at night. We would arrive over the target area at 10,000 above, orbiting over the three 100 foot apart concentric rings painted in the desert sand with a 20 foot bulls eye ring in the middle. To place a metal object inside the outer 300 foot ring seemed daunting. How would we get our smoke charged practice bombs inside the 100 ft. ring, much less on the Bullseye? How was this going to work?
The theory was to hit a “40 degree angle cone” around the target at exactly 10,000 feet above, and at 250 kts of airspeed, and roll the A-6 inverted, and pull the nose down into the bulls eye, and plunge yourself toward the ground- a quite unnatural act. The Intruder was now accelerating rapidly, and you checked to ensure you were on that 40 degree cone. Glancing at the altimeter, it was unwinding a thousand feet a second- the ground getting dangerously close- all the while the Intruder was accelerating toward 500 kts of airspeed.
Now came the hard part- getting the bomb on the target. You had to first ignore that natural sensation to pull up and save your life! Instead, it was time to get the gunsight below the bulls eye and let it track up toward the center of the target, watching for any wind indications around the target. Corrections to dive angle, altitude, airspeed, and wind had to be recognized and made instantaneously!
If it all went right, you arrived at 5000 feet above the target with the aircraft at exactly 500 kts of airspeed, right on that 40 degree dive angle, just as the center point of the gunsight passed over that 20 foot circle marking the bulls eye.
This all usually took no more than 7 to 10 seconds.
At that point in space and time, you hit that little red button on the flight control stick which sent an electrical impulse to the bomb rack on the wing, which released the 25 lb Mk 76 practice bomb, which released a puff of white smoke when it hit the ground. This was followed by a 4 G pull up to get the nose of the jet pointing up rather than at the Earth.
Obviously there were huge variables in arriving at this precise point in the air at the exact speed which would result in the bomb hitting the target right on that 20 foot circle painted in the desert sand.
One degree steep on the dive angle? The bomb would land 100 long. It was the same for 10 kts of excess airspeed or releasing the bomb 100 feet lower than the planned 5000 feet. All of these factors resulted in bombs landing 100 feet away from the bulls eye at the 12 o’clock position. Shallow, slower, and higher releases meant 100 feet short. Multiply these factors and now you are 200 to 1000 feet off target.
As rookies, all of these factors resulted in us students slinging bombs all over the target area on that first, second, and sometimes third practice session. We considered any hit within the 300 foot circle to be a success!
However our instructors knew that we could do better. It would take lots of practice on flying the parameters exactly, and this is what they drilled us on. They knew that as we became better “mechanical” bombers, there were instincts being developed within us that would make this process become second nature.
During the next two weeks, we students flew with our instructors; we ate our meals with them; we hung out with them at the Officers Club after flights. We listened to them as they shared their experiences in weapons delivery. Often, they taught often us more at the bar than in the classroom. It was learning through experience and relationship!
During this time, we went from ‘mechanical’ programmed weapons delivery, to getting the feel of the aircraft and ‘the picture’ of the target at the proper release point. Learned instincts began to replace the rote procedures, and at the end of the two weeks at El Centro, we were placing the practice bomb within 100 feet of the target, and occasionally inside the 20 foot circle that defined the bullseye. Weapons delivery became a huge dart game, a sporting event, and an art form. In the process we became instinctive bombers- and our adversaries would say we were some of the very best in the world at getting the weapon on the target.
Lt Bagby on the Enterprise with a loaded A-6 Intruder
When I graduated fro the A-6 training squadron, VA-128, I joined the Knight Riders of Attach Squadron 52. The first person I met in Va-52 was the Executive Officer, Commander Daryl Kerr. Daryl had a very short haircut. He noticed the hair touching the top of my ears and said "Bagby, the next time I see you you better have a proper haircut." I didn't take too kindly to that introduction and my guard went up.
I was paired with a Naval Academy graduate as my bombardier/navigator, Lt Tindle, who let me know that he would be in command of our flights together. I understood and we began training on flying low level routes through the Cascades and the flatlands of eastern Washington and Oregon that ended at our bombing range on the Colombia River where we would drop 12 Mk-76 25 lb. practice bombs which had a smoke charge that would mark our hits. The low level routes had a minimum altitude of 500 feet AGL (above ground level), which meant we were not allowed to fly lower than that. However there was a new development in the Soviet surface to air missile arsenal. The new SA-6 missile had a radar that could track you down to 100 ft. AGL. With this new weapon system, I realized that if I was going to survive in a combat environment, I would have to get comfortable flying at 50 feet.
I began flying some portions of those low level routes in Eastern Washington and Oregon at altitudes below 500 ft. AGL and at time easing the aircraft down to 50 feet. My B/N, Lt Tindle, became uncomfortable breaking the rules, and cautioned me not to do that. My reply was that if we went to war against a SA-6 missile site, we better be ready to fly at 50 feet. This discussion went back and forth, and I sensed Lt Tindle’s frustration over this issue. He discussed this with our Operations Officer who cautioned me to not fly under the 500 feet AGL I replied that if I was sent into combat that I had to be comfortable flying at 50 feet, and that I would get comfortable there in my training.
The result was that I became known as a somewhat disobedient officer and reckless pilot. These are not good qualities for advancement up the Navy’s promotion system, and since I was not planning on a career in the Navy, I really didn’t care. I only cared that I would be able to survive in a combat environment.
Daryl became our commanding officer a few months after I joined the VA-52, and on my first fitness report from Daryl, I was rated #13 of 13 Lieutenant Junior Grades. I was placed in the bottom 50% of all Naval officers, which is death to any career ambitions. Daryl’s concern about my recklessness was such that he assigned me as his wingman, meaning that he and I would be flying all our training missions together. He also assigned LCDR Pete Rice, a senior department head, to be my bombardier/navigator. Now I was under the most intense scrutiny.
Daryl is flying the lead and I am in the #2 position on his port wing.
We began training together and to my surprise, I discovered that Daryl was a good pilot. He had flown many combat missions in the Viet Nam war. I also discovered that he was a very good visual bomber, who could put almost all of his bombs inside the 100 ft. ring, and many inside the Bullseye. The more we briefed our flights, flew them together and then debriefed afterward, the more I enjoyed flying with Daryl.
There was another discovery: Daryl slowly realized that I was not a reckless pilot, but cautious in my approach to flying the mission. I’m sure Pete reported to him on my flying procedures. When we were dropping our practice bombs, mine were also inside the 100 ft circle and often on the Bullseye. We developed real friendship and mutual professional respect in our months of flying together, and I became good friends with him and Pete.
On my next fitness report from Daryl, I saw that he rated me as number 5 of 13 lieutenants, and placed me in the upper 10% of all Naval officers. That was quite a jump from the previous 13 of 13 and lower 50% ranking.
“Bagby’, he told me, “I was going to rank you #4 of my Lieutenants but I didn’t think that anyone would believe that you had improved that much in one year.”
The only thing that really did improve was my attitude and relationship with my commanding officer. Because I spent much time working with him, I grew to really care for him, and respect him. He taught me much about being a Naval officer, an attack pilot and a leader.
It was true relational discipleship.
Another thing that changed was the Navy realized that the SA-6 missile did require pilots to be comfortable flying lower to the ground and lowered the floor of those training routes to 200 ft AGL and no restrictions within Military Operating Areas. I was just ahead of my time.
Daryl got promoted and took command of a ship later that year. I didn’t see him again until 1996, when I attended a mission conference on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. After the conference we went to Whidbey Island, where we stayed with Daryl and his wife Vonna. He had contacted me earlier when we all began getting email addresses and invited me to visit if I was ever in the area. Daryl and Vonna became child sponsors with our school project and eventually Daryl became a follower of Jesus and served on his church council.
Vonna, Daryl, Lukas Michael and Mikaela at Naval air Station Whidbey Island standing in front of an Intruder that we both flew many times.
If Making Disciples is our mission, then how do we become “instinctive” disciple makers?
What is the lifestyle of the Christian Discipleship to be?
Where do we turn to discover the ”how” of discipleship?
Obviously the first place to go is the life of Jesus. He gives us the ultimate example of a lifestyle of discipleship. What were His “methods” of bringing people into the Kingdom? How did He reach the crowds, and work with individuals? It also helps to then look at what the First Century church did. What did they learn from living with Jesus? What did they think was important? We find one instructional section in the book of Acts, and another in Paul’s first letter to his friends in Thessalonica.
First, let’s look at The Master of Making Disciples. Jesus once gave his disciples a very culturally significant illustration of how to begin making disciples when He told them:
“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it useful again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world—like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. Matthew 5:13-16 NLT
Salt of the Earth. Light of the World.
Naturally we receive these images through the grid of our own cultural eyes. In North American culture, we use salt to flavor our food. Therefore, Jesus must mean that we are to be the “flavor enhancers” of our society. My Miskito friends along the Coco River in Nicaragua use salt to keep their fish and meat from spoiling. They would take this to mean that Christians on the Rio Coco should be the “preservatives of Christian values”.
Although these understandings of the meaning of salt may make sense to the modern person, the message for the First Century audience was more focused and specific. Let’s step back and become part of the audience to Jesus and His Sermon on the Mount. What did they think He meant when He told them they were to be the ‘Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World?’
Looking at this passage through the eyes of those First Century disciples gives us a Cultural Understanding, and a clue to truly effective discipleship.
Salt had a special significance to Biblical people. It was in abundant supply around the Dead Sea, where evaporation in the world’s lowest point made it the valuable commodity in the region. In the photo, Mikaela is seen gathering chunks of salt crusted with dirt that were lying along the shore near En Gedi.
As in our cultures, this Dead Sea salt was used for flavoring food, and for ‘salting’ fish and other meats to prolong their shelf life. If you go into a Bedouin tent today in the Negev Desert, you will find a bowl with salt (often clumped together with dirt) on the table, the same as in ancient times. You reach with your hand, crumble the salt, and then sprinkle it over your food. When there becomes more dirt in the bowl than salt, the woman of the tent comes over, takes the bowl and throws the contents out of the tent. Then she brings a fresh clump of salt to the table. Archeologists can often identify the streets of ancient communities by the salt content of the soil.
Lukas and Mikaela's salt collection Dead Sea Israel
Salt dissolved into water can later be evaporated and will return to its original state- square solid crystals. You can try to burn salt but it does not burn. Salt has a deep and specific meaning to Middle Eastern people. To ancient and modern Hebrews, salt is a symbol of an eternal relationship or agreement with God.
In the book of Numbers, God make a ‘salt covenant’ with Aaron and his descendants (the priestly order) and declares:
All the offerings of the holy gifts, which the sons of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given to you and your sons and your daughters with you, as a perpetual allotment. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the LORD to you and your descendants with you.” Numbers 18:19
The writer of Chronicles records that God made a salt covenant with David that his descendants would rule over Israel forever:
“Do you not know that the Lord God of Israel gave the rule over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt? 2 Chronicles 13:4
When God gives instruction about the portion grain offering in Leviticus 2, the priests are told to sprinkle salt on the offerings as a reminder of the salt covenant.
Every grain offering of yours, moreover, you shall season with salt, so that the salt of the covenant of your God shall not be lacking from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt. Leviticus 2:13
In a modern Bedouin marriage ceremony, salt is placed between the hands of the bride and groom as they are pronounced husband and wife. On Friday nights, Jews dip the Sabbath bread in salt. The bread is the gift from God and salt preserves the covenant between Mankind and God.
To the Biblical person as well as the modern Middle Eastern, salt has the significance of loyalty and fidelity, because its essence never changes. If I want to express friendship to a Middle Easterner, I could say “There is salt between us.”
Salt seals a bargain for Muslims and Jews. It is immutable, indisputable, and unchangeable. A Salt relationship is forever. Jesus applied this meaning in a very specific relational sense:
Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with each other.” Mark 9:50 NLT
Jesus was instructing his disciples to be known by their loyalty to their friends and family. This is consistent to other Biblical teaching about relationships, gossip, and disunity.
Paul further instructed the believers in Colossae to:
Let you speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. Colossians 4:6
Paul says to “respond to friends and strangers with kindness and grace, regardless of what they may say or do, and in this manner you will be faithful witnesses of the grace of God in your lives.”
Leonardo Da Vinci used this image of salt and loyalty in his famous painting “The Last Supper”. Jesus has just announced to his disciples that one of them will betray him. Da Vinci captures the reaction on the faces of the disciples. Notice the third man on Jesus’ right. It is Judas, clutching the money bag, who has just knocked over the container of salt with his right wrist, spilling it out on the table.
There is no more salt or loyalty between him and Jesus!
Light has many usages in Biblical imagery, but the one referred to here is identified by Jesus as the graceful attitudes toward others, good deeds and random acts of kindness toward the people around us that will cause others to see God in us. Paul echoes this concept in his letter to his friends in Ephesus:
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
3 But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; 4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them; 8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light 9 (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), 10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Ephesians 5:1-10
Living as “Salt & Light”, through sanctified lives with loyal, giving hearts, is the model for building relationships for the Kingdom. It is the “Love God, Love Your Neighbor” commandment that Jesus says sums up the entire Hebrew Scriptures (Torah and the Prophets).
Being Salt and Light to the people around you is the first step in introducing them to Our Creator. It is at the heart of the Christian Lifestyle of Making Disciples.
Moselle, Michael, Mikaela, Arielle & Lukas
Naval Aviation Museum Pensacola Florida 2003
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