Tag Archives: Colossians

Rooted, growing, and established in the faith

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ (Colossians 2:6-8).

Ask anyone around where our apartment is, where my wife or I work, or even our church:  I love plants.  Each spring, I enjoy the thrill of re-potting the houseplants before bringing them outside for the season.  I enjoy picking out new plants for the window boxes and pots that I keep in front of our apartment.  In the early spring and in the last few weeks of fall, I even give away cuttings to friends and neighbors.  There are a few things that this hobby has taught me that not only apply to plant care, but also about life and my walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Before I give any plants away, the cuttings must be prepared.  They must be trimmed, potted, take root, and have new growth before I give them to anyone.  Nothing would hurt my reputation more than to give someone a small plant than to have that plant die a few days after I gave it to them.  Right now, we have a few cuttings that we are preparing to give away – but the sure-sign they are well rooted is new growth.  I believe that this concept of being “well rooted and growing” is very similar to Paul’s rooted and built up in him instructions he wrote for the church at Colossus and Christians everywhere.

As the cuttings take root they begin to sprout new growth.  Depending on the type of plant, this can be new leaves, new stems, or even blooms – each is an indication that the cutting has taken root in the soil and is now, in the words of Paul, building up – becoming bigger and stronger than what it was when it was originally planted.  As Christians, we are supposed to do the same thing – we are supposed to allow our faith to take root and grow.  Just as a cutting needs sunlight, potting soil, dirt, and a container to grow in, Christians need to read and study their Bible (II Timothy 2:15), attend church services (Hebrews 10:25), prayer for ourselves, our families, and friends (Philippians 4:6, James 5:15-16), and to learn from elder Christians (Titus 4:2-10).  Too many Christians, once they have accepted Jesus as their savior, think that their commitment to their Lord and Savior does not extend beyond that.  This is why there are many Christians that are weak in their spiritual walk; instead of growing in their faith, they return to living like they did before they accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.

WhileI was attending graduate school at Southern Illinois University, I had a neighbor in graduate housing that claimed to be a Christian.  In several conversations we had discussing the role of faith, religion, and academic study, he told me that he had come to the realization that there was no way that most of the Bible was accurate.  He said that from a scholarly point of view, the Judeo-Christian view of marriage, homosexuality, origins of life, and stories of Noah’s ark were all tools designed to control the minds and fears of crowds.  He further stated that he believed in what he referred to as “liberation Christianity” where there were no absolutes and all that mattered was not your relationship with God but how you treated your fellow man.  This thinking is what the apostle Paul warned about in his letter to the church at Colossus Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ (Colossians 2:8).  Unfortunately, this man had not known enough of the basics of the teachings of Christ to withstand the false teaching prevalent in the academic world.

Right now in the windowsill of our family’s kitchen, I have two glasses that contains cuttings from plants.  My daughter, who just had her second birthday, loves for me to lift her up so she can look at the plants and the cuttings.  This morning, she noticed the roots that are beginning to appear on the stems of the cuttings of Swedish Ivy, exclaiming “whoa, that?” and then repeating “woots!” after I told her what they were.  As long as I remember this morning’s lesson, of the importance of teaching her about the things of God now while she is young, when she does make the decision to trust in Jesus Christ as her savior, she will not only have a strong foundation to build upon, but will have the ability to look back at the simple lessons taught through our shared enjoyment of caring for houseplants.

A challenge from Paul – act as if you work for God

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ (Colossians 3:23-24).

 It’s the end of another semester at the local community college where I teach.  I enjoy the challenges that each semester brings, meeting new students, and watching the social trends that manifest themselves.  There is one social trend that almost everyone has been guilty of at some point in their lives and is a continual struggle to overcome – it’s doing the most minimal effort to get by.  Although it seems like a good idea at the time, it often causes more problems than it would have if we had just done our best to begin with.

Imagine, if you will, that whatever job you have – if it’s working at McDonald’s, 5/3 Bank, or even Wal-Mart – God was your employer.  Would it change how you did your daily tasks?  Would you go the extra mile to make sure you met all the expectations your employer set before you the day you were hired?  Would you make an extra effort to be on time each morning?  Would you gossip about other employees or your employer while on the clock?  Would you hear God tell you at the end of the workday as you clocked out, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things...” (Matthew 25:21).

Paul, in our highlighted passage for today, is reminding us that as Christians we are to do all things as if we are doing them for God.  With God, there is no “good enough for government work” standard. Paul wrote to the Colossians that whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men (Colossians 3:23).  Everything we do when we are at work we are to do it as if we are doing it for God; while in prison for his faith, Paul called himself an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly (Ephesians 6:20).  When others know we are Christians they have a tendency to watch us more closely, scrutinize our actions, and will judge our professed love for Jesus Christ by what they see us do.  If our work does not reflect the best that we can do then we are damaging our ability to be an effective witness for Christ!

As Christians, we should strive to serve Jesus Christ in all that we do.  This means we should not divide our existence between our Christian service and our everyday lifestyle – the two should be one and the same.  Our faith in Jesus Christ should be a very present factor in what we do at work, who we listen to for entertainment, and in our decisions at the ballot box.  Even during Jesus’ earthly ministry he taught about making a conscious choice about what we let become our “master.”  We can either choose and dilligently seek after the things of God or we must make the choice to be bound to the will of man (Matthew 6:24).  Even the apostle John warns Christians that If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: in other words, if we claim to be a Christian and our day to day life does not bear witness to what we profess, we are not demonstrating our faith (I John 1:6).

In a world where taking shortcuts and doing the bare minimum, doing your best can not only bring peace to your soul, but can bring about other benefits as well.  Solomon, a man gifted with wisdom that can only come from God, wrote that He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding (Proverbs 12:11). Although there are those that will claim this verse just applies to agriculture, this concept should be applied to whatever it is that we do for employment – whatever your job is that provides you with what you need to live.  If you are still a student, then do your assignments as you would do them for God.  If you are self-employed, conduct your business as you would conduct it for God.  If you work for another, then work for your boss as you would perform the same job for God.