Daily Bread 2011 - Colossians 4
Daily Bread 2011 - Colossians 4:1-6
1 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
What Does This Mean?
While we have mentioned this before, it is important to say that while Paul is not advocating the institution of slavery, which was the norm in his world, but within it he calls Christians to honor their true master Jesus Christ. Finally, Paul concentrates on the importance of prayer as he does in all his letters. Importantly, he says to be “watchful” in prayer. Usually we close our eyes when we pray, but Paul is calling us to open the eyes of heart to see what God sees and passionately pray for God’s purposes to be fulfilled in and through us.
He also prays for an “open door” for his message, so he can proclaim it clearly to outsiders.
So we see Paul’s desire to see those in the community transformed by Christ (Ch.3), but also his heart for evangelism for those who don’t yet know Christ (Ch.4). In addition to what we might say to those who don’t yet know Christ, Paul stresses how we act, and specifically how we speak in our conversations with those outside the body of Christ. He uses the metaphor of “let your conversation be seasoned with salt”. In those days, salt was an invaluable commodity as it was a preservative and prevented sickness. In the same way in our conservations with others, we can either preserve God’s values or contribute to the rotting or decay of culture.
What Does This Mean For Us?
As we seek to be faithful to sharing the Good News with those around us, prayer will be a non-negotiable aspect of our evangelism if we expect it to be effective at all. Literally prayer will open a door for spiritual conversations, where we might be a seasoning in a world filled with darkness and increasing hostility to the things of God. Just how we speak in our daily conversations with others can have a huge influence on those who observe us.
I also find that the more I pray for opportunities to share my faith in the morning, that I am more expectant during the day that those doors might be open during the day. Also, as we pray for people by name, we begin to develop the love that God has for them which 1 Corinthians 13:8 says, “will never fail”. As our lives begin to be clothed with Christ, and our conversations are seasoned with God’s grace; we will be useful for God’s desire that all people might be saved through His Son. As we pray for people and open doors, we can begin to appreciate that most famous verse, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever would believe in Him would not perish but have eternal life.”
Jesus, change our hearts and minds and conversations so that we might be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us that you have given us by His grace. Amen.
1 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
What Does This Mean?
While we have mentioned this before, it is important to say that while Paul is not advocating the institution of slavery, which was the norm in his world, but within it he calls Christians to honor their true master Jesus Christ. Finally, Paul concentrates on the importance of prayer as he does in all his letters. Importantly, he says to be “watchful” in prayer. Usually we close our eyes when we pray, but Paul is calling us to open the eyes of heart to see what God sees and passionately pray for God’s purposes to be fulfilled in and through us.
He also prays for an “open door” for his message, so he can proclaim it clearly to outsiders.
So we see Paul’s desire to see those in the community transformed by Christ (Ch.3), but also his heart for evangelism for those who don’t yet know Christ (Ch.4). In addition to what we might say to those who don’t yet know Christ, Paul stresses how we act, and specifically how we speak in our conversations with those outside the body of Christ. He uses the metaphor of “let your conversation be seasoned with salt”. In those days, salt was an invaluable commodity as it was a preservative and prevented sickness. In the same way in our conservations with others, we can either preserve God’s values or contribute to the rotting or decay of culture.
What Does This Mean For Us?
As we seek to be faithful to sharing the Good News with those around us, prayer will be a non-negotiable aspect of our evangelism if we expect it to be effective at all. Literally prayer will open a door for spiritual conversations, where we might be a seasoning in a world filled with darkness and increasing hostility to the things of God. Just how we speak in our daily conversations with others can have a huge influence on those who observe us.
I also find that the more I pray for opportunities to share my faith in the morning, that I am more expectant during the day that those doors might be open during the day. Also, as we pray for people by name, we begin to develop the love that God has for them which 1 Corinthians 13:8 says, “will never fail”. As our lives begin to be clothed with Christ, and our conversations are seasoned with God’s grace; we will be useful for God’s desire that all people might be saved through His Son. As we pray for people and open doors, we can begin to appreciate that most famous verse, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever would believe in Him would not perish but have eternal life.”
Jesus, change our hearts and minds and conversations so that we might be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us that you have given us by His grace. Amen.
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