Grace-full!

Grace-full!

Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. Colossians 4:6 KJV

Context:

Paul writes to the church in Colosse, and in today's extract speaking to people who have identified with Christ, he charges them to remember and act in line with their new allegiance. Of what use is my claim of private devotion to God if my public life does not line up with that private devotion? Am I a good hypocrite, able to make fine distinctions between what I tell you I am, and what I actually do? This is one of the areas where children of God earn their keep, where men need to see the mark of sonship in and on us. It is not always about what I say; at some point, what I say must be proved, and that will be made clear by the things I do and how I do them. Am I truly a child of God, for such a time as we have now?

Message and Response:

The reason why today's extract is quite instructive is because of the need to minister life to those around me. One way this is done is by speech or communication. It is hard for people who know my allegiance if I don't speak or relate in some way. My daily life, my pursuits and priorities, my interactions with people reveal the state of the inner man. Of what use then is my speech being always with grace and seasoned with salt? Let's look at the definition of grace: "the love and mercy given to us by God because God desires us to have it, not necessarily because of anything we have done to earn it". It is not a created substance of any kind. ... It is an attribute of God that is most manifest in the salvation of sinners. If I know then what I have received, I am quick to share it with others. If I do not share it, maybe it is because I never had it. You cannot give what you don't have. 

It has to be always with grace, because I am also a daily beneficiary of God's grace. I received the grace of pardon from sin and an eternity in hell, and it will be most unfair if I cannot share that with those still under the bondage of sin, or even those who have also responded to the same grace I have received. Would I be so selfish that I can take of that which I did not deserve, and then appropriate it to myself alone, not quick to show or share it with others? Would I be a true child of God? 

And it has to be seasoned with salt, because my life cannot be a train wreck, whacking all in my way. There is a measured approach and application of my life to the situations around me. I am not called to react to everything around me, but to ensure that the temperature around me is regulated enough to show off God's heart and hands. I do not react violently to things that are uncomfortable, and I do not run away simply because the situation is unpalatable. God's grace in me teaches me what is the most appropriate response or action to what I have been asked to confront, and as I act in line with that grace, the salt in me is appropriate for the situation. It may not always be resolved, but it will be clear that my life has had an impact. Isn't that all I am asked to do: impact my world? The work of changing hearts is not mine; that is God's work. Mine is to shine out with all I have received of God, and make sure the world can see him in and through me. 

The reason for my reception of grace, and my being salt is because people will definitely ask me questions about my faith. I am called to be different, but not silent. It is not always about actual speech, but about my whole life speaking: my conversations, the company I keep, the daily pursuits and priorities, the attitude to ministry and service in God's house or to God's people. In so many ways, my life speaks, sometimes without words. To one, maybe it is my devotion to work that will speak. Maybe to another, it is my commitment to family that will speak. Maybe to another, it is my steadfast hope in the face of trials that will speak. 

Whatever it is, I must note: God is always speaking. I am the one to decide if my life will also be a medium through which God can decide to speak. It is a huge responsibility, not one to be taken lightly. It is not a light switch to be turned on and off as I please, but one that must continually give light. It is not a seasonal wonder, or a once-in-a-lifetime thing, but a lifestyle that must speak of devotion to God. Is that true of my life? Can God count on me to reflect his grace, mercy and power? Am I adding flavour to all around me, in measured ways, or am I stinking and fouling up the place, filled with a sense of my own importance? I cannot answer for you, just as you cannot answer for me, but for the sake of eternity, I had better be sure who I am and where I stand. His time of favour is here.