Pattern of Consistency of Character, Conduct and Conversation

UV 2844/10000 Pattern of Consistency of Character and Conversation
Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel
Philippians 1 v 27
The key words and phrases in this uni-verse are conversation, gospel, stand fast, striving together, one mind, faith. The actionable words are “stand fast.” We are as believers in Christ called to live a life worthy of the gospel. We are to “ go spell it out in the way we live.” Our conversation should be truthful, wholesome, edifying or benefitting the listeners. Our character and conduct should be a reflection of the love of Christ. The echo verse of this uni-verse is Colossians 1 v 10: “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of the Lord.” Every step we take, every word we speak should not be unworthy of the Lord, rather it should bring honour and glory to His name. As we increase in our knowledge of the Lord and His word, we should be spiritually more mature and bear more of the fruit of the spirit- of love, joy and peace.
Word of our character and conduct is bound to spread to the world either as a stench or as a fragrance. We should be careful it is not a stench but that it spreads the fragrance of the gospel. The gospel is otherwise called good news, not without reason – it implies that good should come from all directions, good thoughts, good feelings, good motives, good experiences- from inside us, from above us, from around us. Our reputation is our non verbal testimony which is evidence of the truth and power of the gospel to change human lives.
We are to be firm in our faith and united in our spirit. We are yoked to the Spirit of God and to each other as we strive or do our best to present the gospel of Christ to the world. It is a light plough He has placed on our shoulders to pull. As a plough softens and tears the soil in order to plant the seed, our lives and words are to soften the souls. hearts and minds of our listeners to hear and believe the truths that we speak and that we live by. Contradictions and gaps between our beliefs and our words and our conduct or character as well as conflicts among us will make our listeners and observors question our faith and harden their hearts and minds against the hope we try to bring into the lives of people we share our faith with. Consistency in character and conversation, sensitivity to feelings and creativity in methods add to the efficacy of our communication of the love of Christ to the world.

Prateep V Philip