Words of Grace

"All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips."
Luke 4:22

We are called to be like Jesus and it is a lifelong endeavour to do so. Everything about his life speaks of holiness, righteousness and grace. These are such lofty attributes that we often feel  we will never live up to our Savior's example. But what I love about the life of Christ is the practical insights we are given into his daily walk. We see how he related to people, how he spoke to the crowds and how he taught those who followed him. The verse above is one of those practical insights. We can learn much by considering the words Luke recorded.
    It should be the goal of every believer to be 'spoken well of' by those we come in contact with. I understand that sometimes this is difficult. We cannot control what others think. In fact, there were many who did not speak well of Jesus. But those who didn't, were blinded by religious prejudice that would not allow them to recognize the true Son of God. What is important here is this: Jesus gave no one a reason to speak ill of him. I believe this is the example we should follow. I thank God that there is grace to cover us when we fail, but our goal must be to live the kind of life that gives no one a reason to come against us. John Wooden, the gifted and successful former coach of the UCLA basketball team said this: "Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are." Some who have good reputations may not have good character. The one with true character will avoid any pitfalls.
    Jesus was marked by the "gracious words that came from his lips." This is a true mark of a person with character. The Bible speaks often about the words we speak. We are to speak blessing, not cursing. We are to hold our tongues instead of saying negative things about others. We are taught that the tongue can be evil if not contained. Generally, Christians do not make a habit of speaking negative words or giving bad reports about others. But there are those times when a slip of the tongue, or a loose lipped comment becomes destructive. Jesus was never found guilty of such behavior. He spoke the truth, but he did so with grace.
    Our character is important to us and to God. We represent him to others and we must represent him well. To do this, we need character that manifests in gracious speech. Check you life, check your words. Are they edifying? Even if you speak a truth that make reflect negatively on someone, do you speak with God's grace? This is one of the ways that the world will know we are Jesus' disciples. The next time you are tempted to speak evil of someone, check yourself. Then, speak words of grace.