Colossians 1
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
Have you ever considered the work that you do with Christian Horizons as ‘by the will of the God’? I don’t mean the organization per say, I mean the serving of persons with exceptional needs.
I have been reflecting on the book of Colossians for the past while, and will be for the foreseeable future. I’m not really interested in reading through the Bible in a year (although it is a good idea at least once or twice). I find when I do that, I’m more interested in getting the required reading done than I am in understanding, processing, digesting, and applying what I have discovered. I’m not speaking for everyone’s experience, that’s just seems to be how I’m wired. Colossians is deeply challenging and convicting me. So it will be the little letter of Colossians for awhile yet. I’ve decided to drag you in on some of my wrestling.
So back to the opening question, have you considered the work that you do to be ‘by the will of God’? I think how we answer that question truly sets the tone, passion and way that we ‘do what we do’. As Mark and I have travelled Ontario doing the Spiritual Edge Seminar, one of the passages we have examine is Matthew 25: 34-40:
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers [Children] of mine, you did for me.
This passage is about a way of living by the Will of God. It isn’t about the identification of ‘those who are least’ as a separate class i.e. the sick, disabled, imprisoned etc. It is about the realization that, in truth, we are all ‘poor in spirit’ – we are all ‘the least’ – we are all children of God and have a mandate to ‘be’ with each other in a way that reflects the truth ‘…you did it for Me (Christ)’.
How we do our work ‘by the will of God’ is found in our attitude, conduct and behaviour with each other, and with God. The answer starts right in verse 2; To the holy and faithful brothers[Children] in Christ at Colosse. Colosse could be anywhere. Read the verse this way: To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Christian Horizons – Horizon House__. We participate ‘by the will’ of God by seeking to be holy and faithful children in Christ, right where we are. We struggle with this idea of ‘by the will of God’, but as we read on in Colossians we discover just how far and completely Paul believed this himself. He believed that even being in chains in prison he was able to work by the ‘Will of God’. So even though you think your work is as ‘bad as prisons’ (hyperbole) – even there, you can work ‘by the will of God’.
Anyway I was just thinking.
Neil
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
Have you ever considered the work that you do with Christian Horizons as ‘by the will of the God’? I don’t mean the organization per say, I mean the serving of persons with exceptional needs.
I have been reflecting on the book of Colossians for the past while, and will be for the foreseeable future. I’m not really interested in reading through the Bible in a year (although it is a good idea at least once or twice). I find when I do that, I’m more interested in getting the required reading done than I am in understanding, processing, digesting, and applying what I have discovered. I’m not speaking for everyone’s experience, that’s just seems to be how I’m wired. Colossians is deeply challenging and convicting me. So it will be the little letter of Colossians for awhile yet. I’ve decided to drag you in on some of my wrestling.
So back to the opening question, have you considered the work that you do to be ‘by the will of God’? I think how we answer that question truly sets the tone, passion and way that we ‘do what we do’. As Mark and I have travelled Ontario doing the Spiritual Edge Seminar, one of the passages we have examine is Matthew 25: 34-40:
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers [Children] of mine, you did for me.
This passage is about a way of living by the Will of God. It isn’t about the identification of ‘those who are least’ as a separate class i.e. the sick, disabled, imprisoned etc. It is about the realization that, in truth, we are all ‘poor in spirit’ – we are all ‘the least’ – we are all children of God and have a mandate to ‘be’ with each other in a way that reflects the truth ‘…you did it for Me (Christ)’.
How we do our work ‘by the will of God’ is found in our attitude, conduct and behaviour with each other, and with God. The answer starts right in verse 2; To the holy and faithful brothers[Children] in Christ at Colosse. Colosse could be anywhere. Read the verse this way: To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Christian Horizons – Horizon House__. We participate ‘by the will’ of God by seeking to be holy and faithful children in Christ, right where we are. We struggle with this idea of ‘by the will of God’, but as we read on in Colossians we discover just how far and completely Paul believed this himself. He believed that even being in chains in prison he was able to work by the ‘Will of God’. So even though you think your work is as ‘bad as prisons’ (hyperbole) – even there, you can work ‘by the will of God’.
Anyway I was just thinking.
Neil
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