Thoughts for the Day

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel that 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. This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow-servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

For 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,.... while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Today we're going to move on to look at the Epistle to the Colossians and see how the news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has spread twenty-plus years later. Written by Paul (or perhaps a disciple) the letter goes to Christians in the once great city of Colossae in Asia Minor, that is modern day Turkey. The first half of Colossians deals with one of the most profound presentations of 'Christology', that is the study of the life and work of Jesus Christ, in the New Testament.

The message of the Gospel has come to the Colossians through Epaphras a fellow-worker with Paul, and they have learnt, that because God loves His people they have been rescued 'from the power of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of his beloved Son' in whom they 'have redemption, and the forgiveness of sins'

Over 2,000 years later millions of people are followers of Christ, including us. But what is our knowledge of the life and work of Jesus Christ like, and how are we spreading the Gospel, at a time when numbers seem to be declining? Oh, and who are the 'saints'? The word comes from the Greek, hagios, that is, 'things or people which are holy or set apart for a special purpose'. In other words that's us - we are all 'saints' - set apart for a special purpose!

Lord Jesus Christ,
You have called us to Yourself,
as Your people
who are set apart
for a special purpose.
May we continue to learn
more about You
and about our role as Christians.
Amen.