Let your conversation be always full of grace. Colossians 4:6
In 2019, the Oxford Bus Company launched the instantly popular “Chatty Bus,” a bus with designated people on board willing to talk with interested passengers. The route was initiated in response to government research which found that 30 percent of Britons go at least one day each week without a meaningful conversation.
Many of us have likely experienced the loneliness that comes from not having someone to talk to in a time of need. As I reflect on the value of important conversations in my life, I’m especially reminded of discussions that were full of grace. Those times brought me joy and encouragement, and they helped to cultivate deeper relationships.
At the end of his letter to the Colossian church, Paul encouraged his readers with principles of authentic living for believers in Jesus, including ways our conversations can exhibit love to everyone we encounter. The apostle wrote, “Let your conversation be always full of grace” (4:6), reminding his readers that it is not simply the presence of words but the quality of those words—“full of grace”—that would allow them to be a true encouragement to others.
The next time you have the opportunity to connect deeply in conversation—with a friend, co-worker, or even a stranger seated next to you on a bus or in a waiting room—look for ways your time together might bring blessing into both of your lives.
Further Instructions
2 Devote yourselves to prayer,p being watchful and thankful.
3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a doorq for our message,
so that we may proclaim the mysteryr of Christ, for which I am in chains.s
4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.
5 Be wiset in the way you act toward outsiders;u
make the most of every opportunity.v
6 Let your conversation be always full of grace,w seasoned with salt,x
so that you may know how to answer everyone.y
INSIGHT
- When have you experienced the blessing of grace-filled words?
- How might you extend encouragement to someone today through what you say?
Paul’s normal pattern for writing letters to churches is well evidenced in this epistle to the Colossians. That pattern calls for the first half of the book to be primarily theological in nature with the remainder providing practical application of that doctrinal teaching. The first two chapters of Colossians describe the relationship between Christ (the head of the church) and the church (the body of Christ). Chapters 3–4 then give the practical outworking of those realities. In today’s Scripture reading, we find clear counsel on how to live and function as the church body. This includes the need for intercessory prayer (vv. 2–3) and the importance of personal testimony, which includes graciously using the opportunities God gives us (vv. 5–6). This is wise counsel that’s still needed today.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, help me to be a blessing to everyone I speak with today, filling these conversations with Your grace. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen!!
Read: Colossians 4:2–6 (NIV) | Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 13-14; Luke 10:1-34
