Thought of the Day !!

Live wisely among those who are not Christians, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and effective so that you will have the right answer to everyone.
Colossians 4:5-6 (NLT)

These two verses have come to me the last couple days. On the surface I see Paul trying to teach us to be different from non-Christians. We must use our time with them as opportunities to minister and evangelize. This doesn't necessarily mean asking them if they're saved, though it could at times. But what he really wants us to receive here (I believe) is that we are to live and act like Christ would around them. We are to care for them and teach them about Christ whenever possible. We are to show love to them by what we do and what we say and how we say it. We are to lift them up, being gracious to them.

This is my understanding of this passage. But as I've thought about it lately, I believe God is sharing with me that this is just as important in our daily walk with other Christians as with non-Christians. In today's world there is so much falling out in our churches and denominations. One person believes this and another believes that. One person does this and another doesn't like it. And when this happens, I wonder just how much of the conversation is "gracious and effective"?

Maybe it's not fighting over beliefs or actions. A lot of us may just be critical or rude or negative. Maybe this is you or me and we don't even realize it. Do you know how many times that you make someone think to themselves "I wonder what side of the bed he/she woke up on this morning?" Do you realize that you may be turning some people off by what you say to them? I've been wondering that about myself these last couple days, and thought it might be a good idea if we all did.

And then let's never forget that the original purpose of this passage was for our conversation to "be gracious and effective so that (we) will have the right answer for everyone." We want our answers to those who are non-Christian to be positive instead of negative. And our answers may not come after we've been asked questions. Many times we may answer their questions by how we speak to and show respect for each other as Christian brothers and sisters.

So today let's focus on how our conversations with each other (Christian and non-Christian alike) can be more gracious and effective.

In the love of Christ,
greg