Giving An Answer

Dear Friends in Christ,

McKeesport, Pennsylvania was once famous for having the world's largest steel-tube rolling mills. They created a seamless tube there which was unparalleled.

This is how the machine that produced the tube worked: a great serpent of molten metal comes slithering down into the machine, and it would be chopped off. Then the machine would grab it by its ends and begin to spin. By centrifugal force, that bar of molten metal would open from the inside out, forming a perfect tube of steel without seam and without blemish.

A spectator to this process asked the men directing those machines, "What's the most important ingredient in the process?" They answered: "It's the temperature of the metal. If it is too hot, it will fly apart; if it is too cold, it will not open as it ought. Unless you catch the molten moment, you cannot make the perfect tube."

Paul writes in Colossians 4:5-6, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

We interact with people every day. Maybe they are friends, maybe neighbors, maybe family, maybe co-workers, maybe acquaintances, or maybe strangers. What we don’t know and can’t see is how and where the Holy Spirit may have already worked in a person’s life.

As Christians, Paul is telling us that we need to be alert to any and every opportunity in conversation, and to seize that opportunity to share the Good News about our Lord, Jesus Christ. For there is no better news to share then the message of our Savior, who delivered us from sin, death, and the devil’s power, giving us the greatest gift that can ever be given, forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Here, the fullness of God’s love is shown, the richness of His grace, and the greatness of His mercy. This gift is one that flows out from God in a never-ending stream.

So let us look for those opportunities to present themselves, watching and waiting to give an answer as to the source of our hope and joy. For the source of that hope and joy is Christ Jesus Himself. And through faith in Him, may we boldly and confidently share the Good News at every opportunity.

In Christ’s love,

Pastor Paul Pett