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Ann Marie recently received a set of lamps as a Christmas gift. After the holiday, I decided to unbox the lamps and set them up. The process was straightforward- remove the lamps from packaging, perform minimal assembly, put in the bulbs, plug into the outlet, and the light would shine.

Only when I began my project did I notice how heavily wrapped and tightly secured the lamps were inside layers of protective packing materials. All over the box was the warning: FRAGILE: HANDLE WITH CARE. Rather than forcibly breaking into the boxes, I followed the advice and carefully cut away the outer wrappings. The delicate vase-like base of each lamp was still intact, and due to the helpful warning, I was able to appreciate the need for extra care as I assembled the lamps.

When we handle precious, breakable, or valuable objects, we understand it is worth being careful to prevent loss and avoid unnecessary damage. What is a more valuable combination than the Word of God applied to a human soul?

In Christ, we have been blessed with “exceedingly great and precious promises” in Christ (2 Pet 1:4). Because these gifts come from God and are essential in carrying His message to the wider world, we must take care in how we use and handle these blessings. If we do not live out of a grounding in the reality of God’s promises, we quickly drift from His will for us. It is our living out of the Christian message, not our words in isolation, that ultimately influences others for Christ.

Sometimes when meeting a person for the first time, the topic of faith arises. Often, people noticeably shift and even bristle when belief and church life are shared as positives. Sadly, abuse cover-ups, financial corruption, moral scandals, and general mean-spiritedness are associated by many people with the label of Christian. While we might feel that such analysis is not fair, we would be foolish as believers not to acknowledge and admit the many well-known cases of those who have publicly presented Christ violating the trust and breaking the faith with large numbers of people. We know that on a smaller scale, local churches, families, and individuals at times have used the name of Christ as cover for great wrongs.

When it comes to handling the richness of the gospel, our words and actions must be considered with care. In the words of Jesus, we must be “wise as serpents and as harmless as doves” (Mt 10:16). As Paul wrote we must, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one” (Col 4:6). We should seek to adopt the manner of Jesus who, while upsetting the corrupt and abusive religious practices of His day, also displayed a compassion for individual souls that allowed it to be poetically said that He would not break a fragile spirit or snuff out the smallest flame of faith (Mt 12:20). In sharing the message of Jesus, we must be able to convey that apart from Him we have no hope, yet speak in a way that does not despair but points to God’s grace.

This week, may we remember that the good news we hold is precious, and we must steward it faithfully. May we also realize that many people around us are fragile and have been broken by the hardships of life and have become disillusioned with faith. As we seek to offer God’s precious message to broken and bruised people, may we lean on the example of Jesus and speak the truth in a way that draws the hurting to Him.