SEASONED WITH SALT

Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. (Colossians 4.6)

While we read these letters on paper, how are they worked out in our lives? As far as our flesh goes, we know that we can do no good thing. Therefore we pray that The One True God works these things in us, so that we may be gracious to all men. When we are the ones leading ourselves, we see the end results, and they are never good.

Scripture has declared that The Lord has determined the boundaries and habitations of all men-Acts 17:26. This means everything that ever has happened, will happen, or is going to happen: when it comes to what we do and say, no matter how much we do or do not do what’s right, whether we desire to please The Lord or not, has been absolutely predestined by Him. On our own, we fall short continuously. Yet, He Is The One Who has determined “ALL” things, not us, for "O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jer. 10:23)

We find that in the life of every believer, there is a struggle, The Holy War that Bunyan wrote of when mentioning a company of two armies from S. O. S. 6:13. Personally, I believe that when we do something good, we want to take the credit, nonetheless, The Lord reigns and His will always be done, not ours. Perhaps this is part of the reason why we long to be absent from our bodies: For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven-2 Cor. 5:2. Until then, we are made more and more aware of our wicked and deceitful hearts as well as ways.

Have you ever personally noticed how we side with the apostle of old when it comes to our desires?-For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I-Rom. 7:15 How then can my speech be gracious toward others? Can it be from studying, reading, praying, meditating, fellowship, fasting, or church attendance and membership? No! While they may be honorable, these things do not alter the course of our sinful nature, which is what we are and shall bear until death. Jer. 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that is accustomed to doing evil. As children of Christ, we have the remission of our sins atoned for by Christ, but there are many more that we will commit during our lives on earth that were also atoned for past, present, and future, right? Right!, but when we talk to others, they will say, you need to stop sinning brother, you need deliverance and healing: Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.- James. 5:16

How can we ever be sure what we must do? For we know in part- 1 Cor. 13:9 We cannot know completely as well as absolutely, and this is the conundrum of the earthly life of a believer. While we desire to do well for a certain period of time: whether it be a month, week, day, or hour, we find that the fore-mentioned truth still holds true- we cannot. I heard an old Baptist preacher once say that if you wanted to know everything that The Lord has determined to happen on any given day, read the paper the following day.

Yet as The Lord’s children, we have this absolute truth: For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.- Phi. 2:13 So then, we have the desire to please The Lord and to do His will, but it is only what He has worked in and will work out of us, His children, (as well as all creation) that will ever come to pass, no more and no less. We must be taught by The Lord to know the difference and even so, we must war a good warfare within and without til He brings us to Himself. Therefore we ask The Lord to make us gracious…

Gabriel Gonzalez