"To the saints
and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse: Grace to you and peace from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (Colossians 1:2 NKJ)
We live in a day
when literally every person in this world can voice his/her zeal on a subject.
And of course, the zealous comments run the gamut from accurate truth to
unmitigated deception and heresy. Zeal is good! We all need to be excited and
zealous for our beliefs. Yet, a caveat is necessary. Biblical fact should drive
our zeal, not the other way around.
In the first century
A.D., Jewish zealots were going from church to church teaching that Christians
must observe the ceremonial law taught by Moses. And Gentile libertarians were
teaching philosophies that mixed idolatries with Christ's commands. Paul, the
Apostle, taught truth and grace and faithfulness.
I hear a lot of
Christians crying for radical Christianity today. Paul taught radical
Christianity in the first century. Holiness in the face of unrestrained
liberty. Faithfulness in the face of faithlessness. Peace in the face of chaos
and persecution. Grace in the face of legalistic dogma. Truth in the face of
deception, lies and heresy. In other words, radical Christianity is the only
kind there is. Anything less is not Christianity!
It is Christ that
transforms us from sinners to saints. We are transformed into faithful,
steadfast disciples by obeying "whatsoever he has commanded" (Matthew
28:20). The first century saints at Colossae were not the only ones who can be
faithful in Christ. You can be faithful. I can be faithful. The 21st century
Church can be faithful.
The Church at
Colossae blessed Paul by its firm commitment to Christ. He encourages the
Colossians, and all "faithful brethren," to persevere in Christ. I
want this transforming grace that stimulates me to live up to Christ's
expectation and finishing work in my life.
Dear Father, thank
you for your transforming grace. Empower me to be faithful to all your commands
through Christ. I pray this in the name of Jesus. AMEN
We have not arrived
but we are being transformed into the image of the Son of God!
No comments:
Post a Comment