Wednesday, November 15, 2023
At the same time, pray also for us that God may open a door to us for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains, so that I may make it known as I should. Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.
Colossians 4:3-6
From prison, Paul writes to the Colossians, giving them lots of good advice. Paul asks for the church in Colossae to pray, not for him (even though he is in prison), but that the Gospel would still go forth. He asks them to pray for an open door for the word. Even while he is in prison in chains because of his faithfulness to the Gospel, the only thing Paul wants is for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be advanced. He wanted to be able to continue to tell everyone the Good News even if it led to more chains for him.
Then Paul jumps right back into his advice on Christian living starting with how we should treat everyone, inside and outside the fellowship. The way we act and treat others is always on display. The way we speak to others is a great big part of this. People will notice a tone of voice and will quickly take it out of context. Time is of the essence, and we do not have time to waste being rude and ungracious to others. Making the most of the time speaks to the urgency that Paul always felt for sharing the Gospel. Paul lived with the urgency that Christ’s return is imminent and there is no time to waste. Souls were at stake, and they needed the hope of salvation.
Gracious Speech, Seasoned with Salt
The root word of eucharisteo is charis, meaning grace. When we have been shown so much undeserved grace from our Heavenly Father, how can we not show grace to all around us? For a believer, grace should be a lifestyle. It doesn’t just show up in the way we speak but in every action we take. The grace of God in us becomes who we are.
“The word ‘grace’ has, in Greek as in English, the possible double meaning of God’s grace and human graciousness.” (Wright)
Keeping our conversations gracious and seasoned with salt can be hard sometimes. People hurt us and are unkind but as ambassadors of Christ we are to stay gracious no matter what. That does not mean that we are supposed to accept abuse or rudeness. It means that we bring truth into grace. We can say what needs to be said with grace, seasoned with salt.
In rabbinic tradition, the words, “seasoned with salt,” would have been associated with wisdom. Paul was reminding the Colossians they were called to be people filled with godly wisdom. He wants us to remember that their words, and ours, are used to represent Jesus. And in order to do this, we can follow His model to pursue both grace and truth together.
Hard conversations and hurt are a part of life. Someone will always test our limits on grace, but with the help of the holy spirit, we have the help we need to choose truth-filled words and present them in a gracious way.
