May 7, 2010

FINAL INSTRUCTIONS

Colossians 4:2-6

Today we come to the end of the teaching section of Paul’s letter to the Colossians. We are going to come back next week for one more message on Colossians, to review and summarize the overall message of the letter. But this is the final section of instructions in the letter. The rest of chapter 4 is given over to greetings and personal notes and references.

It is always interesting to me what a writer leaves until last. What is it he wants us to ponder, to apply? What is the final thought or thoughts he wants us to take away? Let me read the passage: 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.

I find it intriguing that Paul challenges us in two areas that just about every Christian struggles with. In this final section, Paul challenges us in the areas of prayer and Christian witness. Let us look first at his challenge to us in the area of prayer.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

The word “devote” means to continue to do something with intense effort and in spite of difficulty. That thing which we are to do with great vigor and effort and in spite of difficulty is prayer. Some Christians seem to earn a reputation of being good at prayer. We call them “prayer warriors.” Many other Christians, however, seem to carry a certain inferiority complex about their prayer lives. I would point out that this verse is in the imperative. It is a command, and it is directed toward all Christians, not just to the few who might be considered prayer warriors. Prayer is something to which we are commanded to continually give our strength and energy. There is the implication that prayer is not easy. It does not come naturally. It is hard work.

Look at how Paul describes the prayers of Epaphras in Colossians 4:12-13: Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. ¹³ I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. Paul used the same image of wrestling in Colossians 2:1, when he described his own prayers on behalf of the Colossians and the other churches in the Lycus valley.

Prayer is one of the fundamentals of the Christian life. Work hard and persistently at praying. At this point we might be tempted to ask why. Why is prayer so important, so essential to us as Christians? We find a clue to the answer of this question in the next word Paul uses: “Being watchful,” the NIV translates. The word literally means to stay awake. Prayer is one of the primary ways we have of staying awake and spiritually alert.

Paul’s use of this work takes me immediately back to the story of Jesus and the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. Do you remember the story? Jesus took three disciples with him deep into the garden, and asked them to stay awake and pray for him, while he went aside by himself to pray alone. Three times he came back. What did he find each time? His disciples were sleeping! Each time he rebuked them. I find these words especially convicting. Watch and pray, so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak. Prayer is one of the most important ways we have of resisting temptation. Our spirit is willing, but our flesh is weak. One of the primary ways we have of bridging that gap is through persistent, vigorous prayer.

I find it very revealing that those words were directed specifically to Peter. We know that before the evening was over, Peter had denied the Lord three times. It is also telling that Peter used the same word for wakefulness and alertness in his first epistle, in chapter 5, verse 8. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. The flesh is weak. Our enemy is prowling around looking for someone to devour. How shall we stand firm against such adversaries? Stay alert and awake through prayer.

Prayer is a way of staying awake. Our prayer should also be permeated with a spirit of thankfulness and thanksgiving. This is one of the consistent themes of Colossians, isn’t it? Over and over, Paul brings us back to this, commanding us to be thankful. It should be impossible for us to come to the Lord without thankfulness: for our salvation, for all that Christ is and for all that he has done, we are to give thanks. For his provision and for his promises, we are to give thanks.

While Paul is talking about prayer and urging the Colossians to diligent prayer, he takes the opportunity to ask them to pray for him, and as he does so, bridges to the second topic of this final exhortation. Notice what Paul asks them to pray for:  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.

I couldn’t help but think of all the things Paul could have asked them to pray for. Remember, he was in prison when he wrote this letter. He even mentions his chains in this verse. He could have asked them to pray for his release. He could have asked them to pray for his health. The list could have been long! But his focus is on his ministry; an open door to proclaim the mystery of Christ; ability to proclaim the gospel clearly. That one really brings me up short. If Paul needed prayer to preach clearly, what about the rest of us? We see Paul’s priorities reflected in his praying, and for Paul, the priority was the glory of Christ and the spread of his gospel.

The question may then arise. Was this a priority unique to Paul and the other apostles alone? In his next words here in Colossians, he goes on to show that this priority of clear witness to the gospel of Christ is one that has been passed to every disciple and follower of Jesus Christ. (Col. 4:5-6) 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.

There are three things that Paul expresses here about the task of Christian witness. The first is a sense of urgency. This is found in the words, “making the most of the opportunity.” It is a metaphor based on buying up something that is in limited supply. I remember when we lived in Kenya, periodically word would go out that there was a shortage of some basic commodity. Let’s say it was sugar. What would happen when such a word spread? Everyone would rush out to buy up all the sugar they could find. Long queues would form at the grocery stores. I wonder if we have that same sense of urgency about our opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Such urgency may come from different sources. How long will you and I live here in Abu Dhabi? How long will that person we care about be with us? Life is uncertain. How long will they live? How long will I live? How long will that window of openness to the gospel remain open? When will Christ return? We don’t know the answer to any of these questions. In light of such potential “shortages” are we “buying up” the opportunities before us?

The second thing that stands out to me in these verses is the need to witness by our lives and behavior. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders. “Outsiders” is Paul’s way of describing those who are still outside the Kingdom of God and the family of God; those who are still outside of Christ. The word translate “act” here is once again the word “walk”. Literally we are commanded to “walk in a wise way toward those who are outside.” Our conduct toward them and our walk among them is a significant part of our witness. Does our manner of life and our behavior attract people to Christ and his gospel, or does it repel them?

I found a very intriguing and penetrating quote in the newspaper several weeks ago. It was a report on a recent crack down on Christians and Christian workers in a country in North Africa. Some were given only 48 hours to pack and leave the country. Many of them were engaged in ministries of compassion and mercy, but they were accused of proselytizing. The pastor of the international church in the capital city of the country summarized the issue in these words: “At what point does living your life become proselytizing?” It is a penetrating question for every Christian, and especially for those of us who live in this region of the world. How would we answer the question? I hope we can answer it: “All the time!”

It is essential to witness by the way we live our lives. But I must hasten to add that such a witness is not sufficient in and of itself. There is another crucial ingredient in our witness. We must witness with our lips. This is what Paul tells us in verse 6: Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

The term translated “conversation” here is actually the Greek word for word, or “logos”. It is an articulated, verbalized message of truth. This is an intriguing verse; a word or message always full of grace. This implies that our speech, our message should be gracious, pleasing and winsome. But I also believe it means that the grace of God should be an essential part of our message, our word. If we go back to Colossians 1:6, an important feature of the Colossians coming to faith in Christ was their understanding the “grace of God in all its truth.”

Then he adds a fascinating metaphor: “seasoned with salt.” I think this phrase needs to be taken with the phrase that follows: “so that you may know how to answer everyone.” A good cook seasons his/her dishes differently, depending on the taste of the dish and the taste preference of the people he’s cooking for. We, as Christ’s witnesses, need to become skilled in flavoring our witness so that it is appropriate to the situation and to the individual or group we are speaking to. To the Pharisee, Jesus spoke of the need to be born again. To the woman at the well, Jesus spoke of thirst and of living water. To the crowd by the Sea of Galilee, he offered himself as the bread of life. I could go on and on. Each meal of truth was flavored for its unique audience.

At the conference I just attended for international church leaders, one of the speakers used a powerful image to put this truth across. We all sat in a circle. He then had some of us throw a shoe into the middle of the circle. There were sandals, and tennis shoes and leather shoes. Then, he told us a number of stories of people who had come to faith in Christ. Each story was dramatically different. Each had been attracted to Christ in a different way. At the conclusion of each story, he would pick up one of those unique shoes in the middle of the circle and put back on the person’s foot with the words, “The gospel of Jesus Christ, just for you.”

It is not enough to just memorize a “one size fits all” gospel mantra that we repeat endlessly in every setting. We must seek to be good “cooks”, seasoning the message to fit the person and the occasion, following the leading of the Spirit of God as we seek to win people to faith in Jesus Christ. It is good to have a thorough and basic knowledge of the gospel message. But it is like learning a piece of music. We must know the melody, but know it so well that we can play variations on the theme. Paul speaks of being able to “answer everyone.” Actually, it is literally “each one.” Skillfully presenting and adapting the message to effectively reach each one. It is a responsibility of every Christian. It is a God-given responsibility; one that is worth some effort, some creativity, some study, some learning.

One of the most powerful “seasonings” we can add to our gospel witness is that of genuine love and care for the people we share the gospel with. Warren, the speaker at the conference, also shared another story of one of the men he had gotten to know. After they had met together several times, this man looked Warren directly in the eye and challenged him: “Am I a friend or a project?” It is a penetrating question. People are quick to discern the difference. Do we genuinely care about them, or are we simply hunting for another soul, a notch on our soul-winning belt? Of course, if we do genuinely care about another person, we will, we must share the gospel with them.

So Paul brings this portion of his letter to a conclusion with two challenges. It is interesting that these two challenges continue to echo a consistent theme of the letter. Remember, we have summarized it with the words: Head in the clouds, feet on the ground. The first challenge is to prayer. Prayer is a way of keeping our head in the clouds, and fixing our minds on things above. What is our prayer life like? Are we working hard at it? Are we persevering? Are we staying spiritually alert through prayer? But prayer is also a powerful link between heaven and earth. “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Prayer is how we bring heaven down to earth. Prayer will not only keep our head in the clouds. It will plant our feet firmly on the ground. It will change the way we walk. And that is the second challenge: a challenge to effective witness, both in life (the way we walk) and in word (the way we speak). Prayer is one of the primary ways that we can ensure that we are truly making the most of every opportunity to clearly share the mystery of the gospel of Christ.