Colossians 4:5-6

Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.

Whether we have a short or a long life, our opportunities are finite. Paul urges his readers to take every opportunity seriously, which means that we need to live wisely. Wisdom is always a deeply practical word in the Bible. The wise person takes God’s truth and applies it to everyday life. This is particularly crucial in our relationship with those who are not believers because, whether we like it or not, people are looking at our lives and learning about God from our example.

When Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, he told them that they were ambassadors – they represented God and his kingdom to the non-Christian world. One of my sisters is an ambassador for the British government and her whole life is shaped by her responsibility to represent our nation well. Our task as Christians is the same. Every day, we must live so wisely that people will look at us and get the best possible impression of God.

A major aspect of our ambassadorial duties is our conversation. People will work out what kind of God we serve by the way we speak, so we need to work hard at speaking in a way that will commend the Lord. The expression Paul used in Greek is that our speech should be “seasoned with salt”. It should be attractive, not bland and lifeless. Salt makes food appetising and we need to speak with such care that people will be encouraged to learn more about God and find him for themselves. That doesn’t mean that we need to be able to answer every question that is ever fired at us! We just need to be able to answer everyone with love and grace so they think well of the God we serve.

Question

What could you do to make better use of the opportunities that come your way for speaking about your faith?

Prayer

Loving God, in the power of your Spirit, please help me to become increasingly wise so that I will grasp every opportunity to speak for you. Amen