March 11, 2012
Colossians
4:2-6
Devote yourselves to prayer,
keeping alert in it with thanksgiving. At the same time pray for us as well that God
will open to us a door for the word, that we may declare the mystery of Christ,
for which I am in prison, so that I may reveal it clearly, as I should. Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders,
making the most of the time. Let your
speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you
ought to answer everyone.
The Church is to be devoted in prayer, alert to
opportunities to give thanks to God, and connected with the work and life of those
sharing the message of Christ. Three
simple directives connected by a common thread.
Each directive points people to God.
The goal of a congregation isn’t to just get along. It isn’t to be isolated and focused only on
the small picture of what God is doing in that one place. Instead, the church is called to be connected
across all barriers because God crosses all barriers to be united with His
people. There is a larger work going
on. Paul directs this church to be
involved in his sharing of the message.
He directs this church to engage and speak with outsiders. He directs this church in how to do those
things. Will this church hear these
directives? How willing are we to come
together with God and all the believers to do what God has called us to do?
Paul is clear about the task God has given him to
do. He seeks opportunities to share the
message of Jesus Christ. He expects this
task to continue even through his imprisonment.
He expects all believers to share this task. How clear are we on God’s task for us? How much passion are we willing to put into
pursuing it? What if we came together…across
all barriers…in God’s Spirit? God
changed the world with the passion of a few people. One church can change a community. May we be united in our passion for God and
others.
No comments:
Post a Comment