Colossians 4
“You know what really bothered me?” the
young woman, Lisa, confessed during a recent interview. “Well, you’re asking how Christians come
across to me. I’ll tell you. A few weeks ago I visited … a church. … After the speaker talked for a while, we
started a conversation at our table…. We
got along pretty well.”
“What happened that bothered you?” [Kinnaman asked]
“We were talking about sex, intimacy,
and pregnancy, stuff like that. I told
them about a friend of mine who was considering an abortion. I told them her entire situation. … I
made some comment about really empathizing with my friend; that I could
understand that abortion might make sense.
I guess that shocked them. … [T]he conversation shifted at that point in a
really weird way. Instead of having a
dialogue, I was put on the defensive.
They were nice enough about it, but the ladies just kept talking at me, trying to fix my attitude about
abortion.”
Lisa paused and softened her tone, “And
here is the part that bothered me, something I never told them. What they didn’t know is that I had an abortion – a long time
ago. It was not an experience I would
wish on anyone. But I can feel my
friend’s dilemma because I lived it. I
am not sure the Christians I hung out with that morning get that.
“I guess the truth is I was hoping for
some empathy myself.”
-
David Kinnamon relates this event in the book,
Unchristian, which he co-authored with Gabe Lyons (p. 181-182)
“Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making
the best use of the time. Let your speech
always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to
answer each person.” - Colossians 4:5-6
How often do our words fail to be “gracious”
– that is “displaying or delivering grace”?
Thanks be to God that He extends grace to us continually! May the cross and empty tomb transform our
tongues to make our words (and attitudes) gracious.
Lord, my words do not always reflect Your
grace. Please forgive me, and help me to
share the grace You have given me with others.
Amen.
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