Verse six also indentifies the “purpose” of gracious, seasoned speech. The purpose closes verse 6. It says, “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” Verses 5&6 present us with living a good life before an unbelieving world, taking advantage of every opportunity to do good, and to let wisdom direct every aspect of your relationship with outsiders. The purpose of this is to make Christ known to the world. If you’re living this kind of life people are bound to notice and they will ask questions. Peter put’s Paul’s exhortation in these words, “Always (there’s that word again), be ready to give an answer to every man that asks you for the reason for the hope that you have.”

Don’t miss the fact that the believer does not initiate the discussion. We are to live in such a way that we elicit questions from outsiders regarding our faith.  We should all know the truth about God (Chapter 1), the truth about Believers (Chapter 2) and the Truth about life (Chapter 3). We must understand our Gospel and build ourselves up in it, so that we can explain it intelligently and pass it on to others. If we put Christ at the center of our lives, we will be people of hope. Other’s will see this unique lifestyle and want to know where that hope comes from. We must “be ready always” to share that hope.

The Boy Scouts are famous for their motto: “Be Prepared.” The Christian’s motto is “Be Ready.” We can never take a break from our Christianity nor relax our spiritual vigilance. We live in a world of people who are often without hope. We must be ready to love, learn and live out our faith in all areas of life. Our ministries begin in the home and expand to the church, to the job to the school, to the community, and to the world as a whole.

Chuck

“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” Colossians 4:6