Scripture
6And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7
Observation
The Christians Jews in Colossae were falling for the lies of Gnosticism which taught that God (as a Perfect Spirit) could not come into direct contact with the material world. Paul took care to point out that Jesus is God, and He came in the body of His flesh (Colossians 1:19–22). So, according to this false philosophy, God would work through angels or lesser spirits. This resulted in a distance between God and His people which was the very gap Jesus bridged with his coming, walking among us, dying for us, and rising again. So, Paul uses two metaphors to drive home the point that God is NOT separate from our daily life, but is fully integrated in the life of the Christ follower.
Application
In a day and an age when many Christians are leaving their faith behind Paul shows us how to leave compartmentalized faith behind. It’s not just Jesus on Sundays but every day. It’s not just Jesus when I’m reading my Bible, but with everything I’m looking at throughout my day. It’s not just Jesus where I worship, but everywhere I walk. Paul says, here’s what a growing faith looks like.
Deepening Root Systems result in good fruit and keep us from being deceived by shallow arguments and philosophies that sound spiritual but result in a distance from God rather than a daily dependence upon Jesus. Notice how the roots keep growing deeper. No matter how the wind blows, no matter how the faith of others may erode, those who grow their roots will see fruit in a barren land. These roots in Christ should be found in the soil of every relationship in our lives.
Consistent Construction on the firm foundation which is Christ. We are not supposed to be living in a spiritual shanty with a ramshackle roof and no room for others. No, the idea here is that Christ is a wide foundation making room for the building of our faith and the faith of others. How silly to have a such broad, wide, and deep foundation and to only set up a shack. No, this foundation was built to include everyone and everything in our lives.
How can I make sure my faith isn’t compartmentalized? Paul says, “just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.” I accepted Christ by faith through repentance into every part of my life so that is how my faith goes both deeper and higher. Over the years it's easy to begin to take some of those areas of my life back. As if my business is none of God's business, or my shows don't need to be shown to Jesus. By faith through repentance I follow Him wherever He goes into every area of my life, right? A friend recently shared how there’s always been 10% of his life that He hadn’t surrendered to Christ. This guy is a leader at a church in the area with a strong faith and great family. Yet, he shared, he’s always held on to his personal preference to smoke marijuana. Finally, this past Good Friday, He felt the Holy Spirit say, “let me have that too.” He traded this false escape for the true and he has never felt closer to Christ even in the midst of some very stressful situations he’s been facing recently. This is Christianity without compartments. This is deep roots resulting in lasting fruit the consistent construction of a strong faith that let’s Jesus own all the square footage of our soul.
Prayer
I pray that there wouldn’t be a single area of my life where You aren’t allowed. I surrender to Your Spirit. I choose to follow You through this day and invite You to show me areas of shallow faith and shoddy construction. I don’t want to assume that I won’t fall for the lies around me that sound so true. There’s not a time in my life where my roots shouldn’t be growing deeper, where I’m not learning from you. There’s no time where my faith shouldn’t be built higher and making room for Your expansion into every area. The only way my faith will stay strong in these last days is if I’m going deeper and higher in my relationship with You. I want to live in the overflow of thankfulness rather focusing on what I wish I had. I have more than I need when I have You.
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