Colossians 2:6-7
6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.
When it comes to devotional thought, I tend to use the NIV translation; however, today I prefer the NAS translation because it brings out a certain aspect of the text not easily seen in the NIV. In this passage, “being rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith, and overflowing with thankfulness” is not a description of the command to “live in Him” (as the NIV seems to indicate and as I earlier thought). The Greek indicates that this was something they were already doing. In essence, Paul is saying, “Now that you have been firmly rooted in your faith and are building upon that faith; now that your faith has been made sure in your life, and you are overflowing with thankfulness – keep going!”
I think that describes many of us who have been there, done that. Our faith is firmly rooted. We continue to build on that faith through a variety of means (e.g. church, bible studies, etc.). Our faith is sure – fruit providing evidence and God’s Spirit providing assurance in our hearts (Rom. 8:16). We try to allow the things of God to spill over into our walk in this world. We try (though not always succeeding) to live thankfully. But let’s face it, sometimes the “been there, done that” attitude can begin to creep in.
Uncle Howard (Inouye) commented last Sunday in class that our enthusiasm for Christ is an up and down affair. It seems true that as we continue longer and longer in our faith, the newness of our life in Christ begins to take on that “same old, same old” feeling. It was said several times to me when I was younger that my enthusiasm in the faith would settle down over time. I’d like to think it hasn’t, but I recently ran across a new believer whose enthusiasm revealed to me that mine is not what it used to be.
You know, we need more Paul’s in this world. We need people who will encourage us and cheer us on to keep going. Life shouldn’t get old. We ought to be continually experiencing the faithfulness of God (and probably we do, but we just aren’t looking); we ought to be living with anticipation. We ought to be living by faith.
How about you? How can you be an encourager like Paul? Who can you encourage to keep going, to keep looking, to keep walking, to remind them of the good things God has provided? Consider what God is doing in your life. How is He encouraging you personally? Tell others!
Last Saturday, the Women’s Ministry held an event in which Terri Sasaki shared about her continued journey of faith as a missionary with her husband Scott and 3 kids. What an inspiration it was to so many women there. To hear how faithful and powerful God has been in her life is just what the doctor ordered for many there. We need more Terri’s, too.
We could all use a little dose of encouragement along the way. Why not be the giver of encouragement today? Think of one person you could encourage today, and then do it.
