0703 LIVING THE NEW NORMAL

JULY 3 = COLOSSIANS 4

THE NORMAL CHRISTIAN LIFE

Paul begins this final chapter of Colossians with a series of quick directives about the practical Christian life, especially how to act among non-believers.

He begins with these practical words:

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 

Would I say that I have “devoted myself” to the prayer? Have I made prayer my high priority, so that I could say, as Paul often did, “I am always praying for you.” Or, “Pray without ceasing.” You may remember that the early church in Acts “devoted themselves” to the apostles’ teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers. 

It is a similar concept to walking in the Spirit, of course, in that it is done by living in constant communion with God through prayer, as the Holy Spirit guides your thoughts. The Spirit guides you because you are being watchful and thankful.

Roman Catholic believers might fulfill this verse by praying the Rosary continually through the day. In the orthodox churches, they offer up what they call the Jesus prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us.” In both traditions, the repeated prayer become the background which provides context for everything that goes on around you. Which brings us to how we behave toward those who are outside of the faith. Paul says this:

. . . Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

The internal seasoning that flavors each each conversation and thought is generated by this continual prayer life as we walk in the Spirit. The Spirit provides the savor that seasons our every conversation, our every answer. The flavor of that seasoning that permeates every interaction is Grace. Let grace color every interaction.

Some years ago, a man named Watchman Née did a series of teachings which were put into a book called “The Normal Christian Life.” I read that book a few times as a young believer and found it to be challenging, and it resonated with me. The book is organized around the book of Romans, but that chapter I am thinking of fits this passage well.

“Some of you have no doubt had an experience something like the following. You have been asked to go and see a friend, and you knew the friend was not very friendly, but you trusted the Lord to see you through. You told Him before you set out that in yourself you could not but fail, and you asked Him for all that was needed. Then, to your surprise, you did not feel at all irritated, though your friend was far from gracious. On your return you thought over the experience and marvelled that you kept so calm, and you wondered if you would be just as calm next time. You were amazed at yourself and sought an explanation. This is the explanation: the Holy Spirit carried you through.

“Unfortunately we only have this kind of experience once in a while, but it should be a constant experience. When the Holy Spirit takes things in hand there is no need for strain on our part. It is not a case of clenching our teeth and thinking that thus we have controlled ourself beautifully and have had a glorious victory. No, where there is a real victory there is no fleshly effort. We are gloriously carried through by the Lord. The object of temptation is always to get us to do something.”

So here are those challenges from Paul. 

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. . . . Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

May we learn to live the “new” normal!