Colossians 1:1-14 (NRSV)
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Chapter 1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, Verse 2To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
Verse 3In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Verse 4for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, Verse 5because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel Verse 6that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. Verse 7This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, Verse 8and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
Verse 9For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, Verse 10so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. Verse 11May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully
Verse 12giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. Verse 13He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, Verse 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Devotion
We are called to be encouragers of each other in the church. It is one of the ancient marks of discipleship in Christ. In this passage Paul demonstrates what it means to be an encourager. He is careful that the Colossians hear how he is thankful for them, and to remind them that their faith is genuine and is doing good work. He takes time to mention one of their leaders by name.
In a world where the default seems always to be on pointing out what someone has been doing wrong, this passage is like gold for our individual Christian faith journey. When did you last hear from someone, "I am glad for you. I am thankful you are a follower of Jesus Christ. I have heard of how your faith has done good work?" Or “Thank God for your congregation, I hear you are walking boldly into mission and ministry beyond your four walls as well as to your own members?”
So here it is: You, Christian, are a gift to others. God has given you the Holy Spirit and granted you the gift of faith and I know you have blessed others and lifted up the gospel of God's love in your words and deeds. I'm glad to be your brother in Christ!
Prayer
Teach me O Lord, to see God’s work in others, and empower me to tell them that. Amen.