Speak Words Of Grace
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit [give grace to] those who listen." (Ephesians 4:29)
Grace not only changes how we live, but grace also changes how we talk.
Paul encourages the believers in Ephesus to avoid tearing each other down by speaking unkind words in unkind ways to each other but to build each other up by speaking words of grace to each other.
To speak words of grace to each other is to speak words of unconditional love, unearned blessings, unmerited kindness, and unlimited forgiveness.
Speaking words of grace is speaking the opposite words with the opposite attitude that a person deserves to hear.
It is speaking kindly to someone who has been unkind to us.
It is speaking a blessing over someone who may have cursed us.
It is speaking patiently to one who is testing our patience.
It is speaking words of forgiveness to someone who may have hurt us.
Isn't this what God has done for us in Christ?
He has spoken grace to us in Jesus.
The Word becoming flesh.
Through Jesus, God has spoken words of unconditional love, unearned blessings, unmerited kindness, and unlimited forgiveness to us...grace upon grace upon grace to us, the undeserving.
What has these undeserved words of grace done in our hearts and lives?
They have set us free and built us up!
Together, let's choose to speak words of grace to people...the Word of grace becoming flesh in us to those undeserving of such grace around us.
What will happen when we speak such words of grace to people?
They will be set free and built up.
We can seek to bring change to people and our relationships through tearing them down with the lectures of our personal laws, resulting in condemnation in the hearer.
Or, we can choose to speak words of grace to them, resulting in liberation and transformation of the hearer, and the healing of our friendships and relationships.
