An Approach To Maturity
AN APPROACH TO MATURITY
COLOSSIANS 4:2-6
How grateful are you to God for the reality of life in Christ? How do you express that gratitude in your relationships with others?
There is an intimate connection between 3:16f. and 4:2-6 in the structure of Paul’s thought. In 3:16 the apostle began to instruct the Colossians concerning their responsibility to one another and to Christ in worship and daily experience. The thought of mutual responsibility, however, provided an appropriate context for Paul to digress on the household code (3:18–4:1). He then returns abruptly to his interrupted appeal to the church as a whole (4:2-6). When 3:16f. and 4:2-6 are read together, it is clear that the apostle is speaking about an approach to Christian maturity. The centrality of the word of Christ in worship (3:16), a dependence on Christ in word and action (3:17), a constant reliance on earnest prayer to God (4:2-4), and wise behavior in the world (4:4f.) are all the dispositions which must be cultivated. What binds the points of this program together is the stress on thanksgiving as the keynote of the Christian life (read again 3:16-17; 4:2; see also 1:12; 2:7; 3:15).
Paul did not hesitate to appeal for prayer for himself and for those with him (especially Timothy and Epaphras, 1:1,7; 4:12-13). He does not request deliverance from danger or hardship but a significant advancement for the truth of Christ (4:3f.). At the time the churches of the Lycus Valley were founded, Paul had used the image of the open door (1 Corinthians 16:9). He now returns to that picture, aware that even in prison God has already opened doors before him (Philippians 1:12-14; 4:22; Philemon 10). To share the good news was so crucially important to Paul that he refused to trust in his own ability to speak clearly and incisively. The church is to pray that God will assist him to proclaim the truth appropriately.
Paul expected all believers to share a sense of obligation to those not yet reached by Christ. His plea for wise Christian behavior (4:5) arises from an awareness that the witness of Christians can be attractive and effective in winning people for Christ. Employing a common Greek metaphor for sparkling conversation (4:6), Paul points to the importance of thoughtfulness in communicating with others. The “grace” which is to characterize our speech is the grace of God; the “salt” with which our conversation is to be “seasoned” is a sense of wonder at what God has done. What Paul expects is thoughtful conversation which prepares an individual to consider seriously Christian truth. Pious platitudes are not sufficient; what is required is tactful, yet candid, speech and a willingness to listen to searching questions and to answer them honestly.