Conversation – Three Minute Bible

Let your conversation be always full of grace …

Summary: Paul admonishes us to fill our conversations with outsiders with grace. While that sounds simple, understanding what grace means requires some reflection on our Lord Jesus.

This verse is important because it is the last verse of instruction in Paul’s letter to the Colossians. Everything after this involves personal business. So, let’s savor what this last sentence has to offer.

The larger context of this passage is how we act towards “others.” My understanding of “others” in this context is people “other than” the believers who are already part of the church body. When Paul says, “Let your conversation be always full of grace …” he is talking about conversations with those who might need more grace.

…and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
”Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
Jesus said to her, ”Your brother will rise again.”
Martha answered, ”I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Martha is the practical one. She and her sister, Mary, are often contrasted as two very common archetypes; the one with her feet solidly planted in this world’s work, the other with her head and heart on other matters.

In this conversation Martha comes very close to chastising Jesus; “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” And then she adds, almost as an aside, “But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

In response, Jesus speaks comfort to her: “Your brother will rise again.”

Tag: Conversation

Conversation – John 11: 19 – 24