How are you working?
Saturday, September 2, 2017
Colossians 3:17
… whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus
The Apostle Paul writing to the Colossian church addresses the issues of the supremacy and all sufficiency of Christ throughout the letter. He makes the point that Christ is superior to the philosophical systems and various worldviews, that Christ is superior to the legalism that some in the church often seek to impose, and that Christ is superior to the carnal positions held by many. Christ ultimately makes a difference to our character.
Christ who sacrificed Himself for us has made our reconciliation with God possible. We now are called to sacrificial service for Him. Paul uses himself as an example of such sacrificial service (I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church – 1:24).
The Apostle then challenges his readers to also see that what is required from them in gratitude to Christ is similar sacrificial service.
He says this after his discourse on our changed character characterized by “tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, and longsuffering,” after he address the issue of relationships among the saints “bearing with one another, and forgiving one another,” and after he talks about the word as our foundation “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.”
All of these things lead to the way in which we work in the church. We are to be sacrificial recognizing that we are working for the Lord. We tend always to get distracted with the people with whom we work and those who are over us in the Lord and try to make working in church like working in a regular workplace will all of the attendant issues.
We are reminded that here, in the church, we work for Christ and should do all things in his mane.
Think of these things:
- Is my service to God through the church sacrificial or just done at my convenience?
- Have I given thought to what sacrificial service would be like?
- What kinds of sacrifices can I make in service to God and the church?
Prayer focus:
Let us pray today that as a team we would all learn how to serve sacrificially and to respect and support others who are making sacrifices.
In His Grace
Pastor Alex
