Whatever you do

Colossians 3:17, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” How do you present yourself to others? You may say the words, “I am a Christian”, but what does that mean? The above verse says whatever we do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the most difficult things is how other perceives us. I read this verse and understand why Paul put into his letters to the churches the importance of walking in the Sprit and not in the flesh. His admonishment to the Christians should shake us. Colossians 1:4 says, “since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all saints.” Yet, Paul writes in verse 9-10, “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all aspects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” I don’t think we realize that whatever we do in word and deed can have a significant impact on others. Colossians 4:5-6 says, “Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each other.” If the last person we interacted with was indeed the only time this person would see us, what would they have to say? What action or word would they remember from this one encounter they had with us? Do they remember the interaction in a positive way? Did we give them something in this encounter they could use to describes us? When a sketch artis is called to draw a picture of a suspect, they rely on the witness’s memory. What do they remember about this person? The witness relies on their memory. They describe what they saw. They don’t know the person they can only describe what they saw with their eyes. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. This is a strong message to me. Will the sketch others give from their encounter with me, look like Jesus? Lord, help me in all my words in deeds align with you.