Colossians 4

There’s a great command from Paul, here at the start of chapter 4:

Pray diligently.

Do you know what it looks like to pray diligently? Diligent is defined as showing care and conscientiousness in one’s work or duties. So you could say it means praying with care. Praying conscientious of what’s going on around you. Praying as if it’s your work or duty.

I’m inspired to stop and pray right now!

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There are two other things worth drawing attention to here as we wrap up Colossians: the number of names mentioned and the significance of the other church mentioned.

Now don’t hold me to this, but I counted at least 11 folks that Paul mentions by name at the tail end of chapter 4. Have you ever heard someone say that we need a team of great people around us to accomplish anything significant? Have you ever heard Margaret Mead’s quote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

That’s what I think of when I read this list of people mentioned by Paul. Everyone remembers Paul because Paul wrote all the letters. Plus, he was the one leading the charge. But he couldn’t have done it without an incredible supporting cast. And these are the folks who traveled with him, who were jail birds with him, who helped him start the churches and continued working there after he moved on to other cities.

Which brings me to the other church mentioned here. There are actually two. He mentions the church at Laodicea and the church that meets at Nympha’s house. Now, the church of Laodicea apparently received a letter. But that letter didn’t make it in the Scriptures.

I wish we knew what it said. But all we know instead is Paul wants them to do a little switcheroo. Colossae believers need to get in touch with Laodicea believers and swap letters. This wouldn’t be a huge deal because they were only 15km apart, but that would take a couple days to walk and swap. Worth it? Probably. Did it happen? We don’t know.

All we know is that about 30 years later, when John writes the book of Revelation, the messenger tells John to write a letter to the church at Laodicea, and it’s not full of rainbows and butterflies. In fact, it’s one of the most scathing of the seven letters to the seven churches. John tells them that they are lukewarm, and Jesus doesn’t like lukewarm. He’ll spit them out of his mouth.

Three decades. They go from an encouragement and a bright spot in Paul’s letter to a scathing critique in John’s letter.

May we learn from their ways. May we gather a small group of committed helpers. And may we pray diligently.

Colossians 3

Paul is on a roll here in chapter 3. There are four very different phrases that I want to pull out here. Four unique analogies and proclamations. The thread through them all is this: Jesus is your life, so live like it.

Number 1: Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ. – Christine Caine talks about this idea, and my wife and I both love it. So many people are shooting for fame, thinking that’s what will make you happy. Status and notoriety only take you so far. Be content with obscurity instead. Don’t despise the days of small things, the days of living in the shadows, in obscurity. God is with you more there. Needtobreathe, NF, and many others have talked about the downsides of fame. I think we’d be wise to heed their advice.

Number 2: And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. – Wear it everywhere. It’s versatile. It’s important. It’s essential. Like a good pair of underwear. Haha! Wear love.

Number 3: Let the Word of Christ – the Message – have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. – I love the image here. Let it have run of the house, run of your life. Give it space and room to grow and expand as we talked about in this post a couple chapters ago.

Number 4: Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t cover up bad work. – Paul is speaking to workers/servants/employees. He’s telling them to do their very best and do their work as unto the Lord, regardless of who serves as the earthly master/boss. And it’s a worthwhile command. As I mentioned in a previous post, there’s a verse in Proverbs that says, “See a man who excels in his work, that man will stand before kings.”

I’ve often prayed that for myself. And the Lord has answered it. Maybe I haven’t stood before a real king, but I’ve stood before heads of companies and mentors of mine. I’ve stood before leaders and large crowds. And I’m confident, if I continue to put my very best into my work, I’ll have more and more of those opportunities. Not for fame, as I mentioned before. But having opportunities for influence and impact. That’s a lot more noble.

I hope you get some opportunities like that as well. But only if you’re doing your best work. 🙂

Colossians 2

Paul wrote so many good lines in Colossians 2. I’m struggling with which ones to call attention to and dive into. I can’t possibly cover it all. And I’m sure Paul felt the same way when writing these letters.

He had written roughly 2,000 words, and he was trying to explain the mystery of the Gospel and how it went first to the Jews, then to everyone else. It was such a novel concept at the time. There was controversy, misunderstanding, differing expectations, and a whole lot of false teaching surrounding it. People were trying to dazzle others with their big words and their fancy rules and their intellectual talk. Sure sounds a lot like today actually!

But Paul saw straight through it. And I pray I can do the same today.

So where should we dive in? Let’s look at verse 7. In the Message, it reads,

You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.

Isn’t that such a great line?! School is out. Quit studying. Start living.

I’m in my mid-30s, but I’d honestly still be in school if I could find a way a different way to get the bills paid. I have a tendency to study a lot. I love to read. I love to learn. I love to be intellectually stimulated. But I’ve also been a believer for over 18 years now, and I recognize, the value in all of this is actually LIVING it out!

It doesn’t mean I shouldn’t continue to study. It doesn’t mean I shouldn’t continue to learn. But I absolutely need to be putting it all into practice. And if I ever have a day where I have to choose between the two for sake of time, I can absolutely miss out on studying, so that I can focus on living it.

So live it, my friends. You know your way around the faith. The fruits of the Spirit are simple. The manifestation of Christ’s life in you is very straightforward. You’ll love people more. You’ll love people better. And you’ll be a more kind, more gentle, more patient, more joyful, more faithful, more peaceful person. Let the Spirit continue working those things in your life.

LIVE IT!

Colossians 1

I love the way Paul opens most of his letters. They’re so grandiose, so meta, so big and dynamic. This letter is no different.

Paul then affirms this truth with the folks at Colossae:

The Message is as true among you today as when you first heard it. It doesn’t diminish or weaken over time. It’s the same all over the world. The Message bears fruit and gets larger and stronger, just as it has in you.

How many things have you heard of that get larger and stronger over time? Usually, it’s the opposite, right? The law of entropy/disorder. Things left to themselves are usually falling apart, getting worse, breaking, dying, etc.

But here Paul says this message, The Message aka the Gospel, is bearing fruit in their lives, and it doesn’t diminish or weaken over time. In fact, it gets stronger and larger and better. It keeps increasing.

So, it may be fair to say, the Gospel is like wine, it gets better with time.

It may also be fair to say that the longer you live with this Gospel and truth, the longer you stay open to its working in you, the better you’ll get. Of course, your body will still age and fall apart; this isn’t the fountain of youth we’re talking about. We still haven’t found that. But your spirit, your soul, the core of you will get better and better.

That’s quite a promise. It was true for the Colossians then, and it’s true for us now.

May you live in the largeness, the strongness, and the increasing power of The Message!

Ephesians 6b

I’m just going to quote part of Ephesians 6 verbatim:

Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

Be prepared.

Take all the help you can get.

Pray hard.

Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up.

Talk about some strong language. Feels like a battle cry!

And there’s that line…so that when it’s all over but the shouting… you’ll still be on your feet. Have you ever been in some of those battles in life? There was the lead-up to it. There was the thick of it, the storm, the heat of the difficulty. And then there was the aftermath. But after the aftermath, it was just a bunch of shouting and words back and forth. I think about it as the folks still talking crap, even after the fight is over. I think that’s what Paul is talking about here. The goal is to still be on your feet. You want to go out with a bang.

Paul had his fair share of battles. And he always remained on his feet. The boxer may get beat up for 12 rounds. But if he’s still on his feet, he has his dignity and he has the chance to win.

How do you stand the chance to win? Through those next couple items: staying full of God’s Word and prayer.

Ephesians 6

Children, fathers, servants, masters… each group is addressed in order.

For the children, they’re encouraged to honor their father and mother knowing that there is a promise attached to it, “so you will live well and have a long life.” Simple enough, right?

“Fathers, don’t frustrate your children with no-win scenarios.” An interesting command, isn’t it? First, it’s interesting because the mothers don’t get called out on any behaviors, nor are they given any commands. Just dads. Second, it’s interesting because that seems like an obscure request. But the more you think about it, the more you see it’s actually a pretty common problem. Dads can give irrational commands to their kids when they get frustrated with them. They can contradict themselves. They can have unreasonable expectations. They can get in a hurry and give impossible instructions. From the child’s perspective, they just need a simple, clear command to follow. And they need someone to deliver that in a concise and polite way, so they can hear it and do it. It’s that simple. There’s a saying I’ve heard many times, “If Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” But I think it’s just as true on the flip side, “If Daddy ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” Dads can make or break their kids, and when they create no-win scenarios, it breaks them.

Now, the word “servants,” at least in this context, could be easily swapped for “employees.” Servants/employees are encouraged in this section to work heartily, to work with a smile on their faces, reminded that no matter who is giving the orders, it is really God who is in charge. It is God who we are serving in our labor. Such a great reminder! And to steal a verse from Proverbs, “See a man who excels in his work; that man will stand before kings.”

Finally, masters, aka bosses, no abuse and no threats. Your master in heaven makes no distinction between you and your workers/employees. You’re all on a level playing field before God. That’s a big deal.

So if you’re a child, a father, a servant/employee, or a master/boss, there’s something in here for you. I wear all of those hats actually, so I really had to listen up and pay attention.

We’ll close out Ephesians with the next entry.

Ephesians 5b

The second half of Ephesians 5 is such a popular passage. It’s often read at weddings because Paul outlines the relationship of husbands and wives, which is really supposed to be an image of Christ and the Church.

I don’t know about you, but a lot of the marriages I see don’t represent Christ and the Church. I’m not ragging on folks either because when I’m really honest, much of my wife and I’s marriage hasn’t been a good representation. It’s a lot easier to be selfish. Looking out for yourself first, without looking out for your spouse and their needs is a big problema. Easy to do; tough to correct.

But after twelve years of marriage, it seems like my wife and I are finally starting to make substantial progress in the right direction. It hasn’t been easy, and I don’t expect it to be. But standing up for your marriage is a worthy cause. The world needs more good marriages. They have the potential to show us so much right and good.

Now, here’s what Paul says to husbands:

Husbands go all out in your love for your wives.

Isn’t that beautiful? When someone goes full throttle in pure love for someone. I’m really trying to get better at that, with God’s help.

Last thing, and then I’ll wrap this up…

I’ve heard this passage in Ephesians preached so many times with so many variations. At the end of the day, it seems like there are two camps of people: those who get it and those who don’t. The people who don’t get it, it comes out as legalistic, authoritarian, and ugly. The people who get it, it comes out as something lovely, admirable, and good.

What I’m speaking about is this:

Ephesians 5:21 sets the stage for all the talk on husbands and wives. Some translations have rendered it “be subject to one another” or “be submissive to one another” but I think that’s an unfortunate translation. Sadly, it’s been used to keep many women down and in abusive relationships, whether physically, verbally, emotionally, etc. The translation that says it best, in my estimation, is from The Message. There are pros and cons to The Message, but here it’s definitely a pro.

The verse reads, “Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another.”

  • Be Courteous– polite, respectful, considerate, well-mannered
  • Reverent– showing deep and solemn respect, adoring, devoted
  • To one another– to people and individuals in relationship
  • Out of respect– a feeling of deep admiration and appreciation of one’s character and abilities
  • For Christ– the Good Shepherd, the Redeemer, the Savior, Jesus

What a line?! “Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another.”

When you can do that, you win! You win as a husband, as a wife, as a parent, as a boss, as an employee, as a friend, as whatever role you’re in.

May God help us all do better in our relationships, being more courteously reverent to one another, especially in pregnancy.

PS: I wasn’t sure where to fit this in the text of the post, but there are a few things that have helped my wife and I’s marriage over the years: 1) being honest with each other, no holding back; 2) marriage counseling; 3) friends who really care, really listen, and really challenge us to be better; 4) drawing boundaries; 5) personal counseling; 6) dedication to personal growth and our relationships with Jesus.