June 26 - Colossians 4:5-6

June 26 - Colossians 4:5-6

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

This letter of Paul’s to the Colossians has been an incredible joy for me to study.  I don’t think I fully realized how much he had to say to me.  This tells me that people have always been the same in the way the react and respond to each other down through the centuries. 

First century Christians would have been rude to waitresses, cut each other off in traffic, said derogatory things about each other in church meetings, been disrespectful to each other and to authority figures.  They wouldn’t have understood the great importance of living a life that gave glory to Jesus Christ rather than themselves.  They would have failed miserably on living out the virtues of compassion, kindness, gentleness, patience and forgiveness.

The world looks at us differently because we call ourselves Christians.  They expect us to behave as if Christ were important to us.  When we fail, we blame it on the world and its expectations of us rather than on our very fallible selves.

Make the most of every opportunity.  We don’t always have to be right.  We have to be gracious.  We have to be wise.  The outside world is watching.  The worst thing that can be said today is that the world expects Christians to behave badly.  No longer are we lifted up as people to emulate, but we are disdained because of our behavior. 

We have become so self-centered, that we believe as individuals we are more important than Jesus Christ and more important than the people He sends us into the world to reach.

Be wise.  Be gracious.  Be aware always that you are representing Jesus Christ whether or not the person you are with even knows that.  We are His representatives and when someone wants to know about Jesus, let them come to you because they are sure you know Him personally.  Be able to answer everyone with questions about how to have  a relationship with Jesus.

Be wise.  Be gracious.