Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt… (Colossians 4:5-6)
Recently, these verses struck a chord in my heart in a fresh and profound way. I was reading Colossians chapter 4 and I was struck by Paul’s zeal for sharing the gospel with outsiders (especially in verses 3-6). I mean, here he is, in prison, and yet his prayer request was something quite different to what you or I might have asked. He said to the Colossians, “pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison” (Colossians 4:3). This almost seems ridiculous to me. Paul is in prison and his request is not for deliverance or release; his request is for doors to be opened that he might share the mystery of Christ.
The gospel must be seriously good news for him to behave like this. And you know what? It is.
My questions for us is, ‘What are we to do with such good news?’. How are we respond to the overwhelming grace of God in choosing us? Well, Paul says to the Colossians and to us, “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt… (Colossians 4:5-6).
Do you ever think about what your actions might say about Jesus if everyone found out you were a Christian? We need to be constantly walking in wisdom towards everyone around us — you never know when an opportunity might come along.
Not long after reading these verses, I found myself with such an opportunity. I was walking from the office over to The Park (our new specialty coffee shop and outreach initiative), and I bumped into an old friend from school. I hadn’t seen them in years and I was able to ask them how they are and what they have been doing. I also invited them to come over for dinner sometime. It was so good to see them! Now I don’t know whether they will ever take me up on my offer, but as I walked away, it was as if God just highlighted these verses from Colossians to me again and said, “that’s what it means to ‘make the best use of your time’”.
God is so good. I love the way he used that moment to bring home the truth of his word to my heart. He is our ever-present teacher and we can trust him to show us how to live out his commands. I’m praying that God will open doors for you and me to love others and share the gospel with them. May the Holy Spirit help us to ‘walk in wisdom toward outsiders’, because we never know when we might get an opportunity to build a relationship or share the gospel with someone.
Be blessed, church.
Ben
