For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
Colossians 1:9,10
Last night, Mary Ann couldn’t sleep so she went into the other bedroom to read and then hopefully doze off. So, when I got up this morning, I quietly walked to the room Mary Ann was sleeping in and closed the door. I then took the dog out and she did her “business” which I immediately cleaned up. This was followed by stripping our bed and taking it to the laundry area. Emptying the clothes already in the washer into the dryer, they started their daily tumble. Laundry detergent was followed by the bedclothes into the washer. When it was time for Mary Ann to get up for an appointment, I quietly let myself in and gently woke her. We spoke for a while before I let the dog in for her morning “greeting” with Mary Ann. This was followed by a glass of iced tea.
So, the question is why? Why would I do this and more? Why did I bake a chocolate pie from scratch the other day? Why did I tie up a tomato plant so she could give it to a friend? Why open the door for her?
The answer is simple. But the living it out on a daily basis isn’t. I do all this and more because I love her. And when I look at her, all I want to do is help her. Please her. Do everything and everything that makes her happy.
This is exactly what Paul is telling the Colossians about their relationship with God through Jesus. In response to who he is and his love for them, they are to live in a way that demonstrates how much they love God in return.
They are to see their life as the way to respond to God. They are to look at God’s love for them as the pattern and power for how they live. He is their example and he is to be copied in every area of life.
He first loved us when we were unlovely. When we were doing everything and anything we could to disobey, disappoint, and disgust him, he loved on us. He sent Christ to die for us. He reached out to us.
And now that we believe that he did all this and more, we want to respond. We need to respond. We must please the one who first loved us. We should be ready to turn ourselves inside-out for him. Nothing’s too big to do for him. Nothing’s too great for him to ask. I bet you don’t have to go through a big, detailed, plan or to-do list when it comes to someone you love. You don’t check your phone for all the items that you need to do for the one who loves you. Heck no, you just do them.
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.
1 Peter 2:21,22
You see, knowledge of God in itself is OK, but it’s wasted if it never breaks out. And how is it to break out? Paul gives us two great things to do with the rest of our lives.
Commit no sin – Wow, that’s a great big ask. What could be bigger? We are not to be in the habit of continually committing sins. We are to leave our past sin patterns behind and start building new patterns. New habits that are rooted and grounded in who God is and what he’s done. For example, since he sacrificed himself for those who didn’t love him yet, that’s exactly what we’re to do. And when we do sin, and we will, God is faithful and just to forgive us all our sins and to cleans us from all unrighteousness[1].
No deceit in our mouth – I’m afraid that I have to be honest with you. While the words only talk about what comes out of our month, it’s a much bigger thing. It includes all the woes we type into our computers and phones. It includes what pictures we post. Anything you forward needs to be without deceit. We are not to be in the business of trying to get people upset or angry. All our words are to encourage and point people back to God, not to deceive or bait them into rage.
Good Bible teaching and good living are connected like two sides of a coin. They are inseparable. There is no way to peel them apart like a banana. They are more than stuck together, they are halves of the same one. The same whole.
Wouldn’t you like this to be said about you. Living a life that was pleasing to the Lord and people. That your life grew and produced fruit in the lives of everyone you met. That you were growing in the Lord. That you did your best not to commit sins and that there was no deceit in your mouth.
I don’t know about you, but they would be great things to be said at your memorial service. But it wouldn’t end there. As you came face to face with your Heavenly Father, he’d say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and share your master’s happiness.[2]” That’s the best why of all.
Noodling Questions
Why is it hard to look at the motives for what we do?
What brings deceit into our mouths?
List three things that are stopping us from living a life pleasing to the Lord.
[1] 1 John 1:9
[2] Matthew 25:23