Continue to live in Christ

Colossians 2v6-7

8^th January 2021

Colossians 2v6-7
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Dear Christian, do you remember when you received Christ Jesus as Lord? I was born again 47 years ago, and I can still remember what it was like. Everyone's conversion is different but my conversion was a very powerful experience of God's love and power. Can you remember the joy you felt the first time you realised that Jesus accepts you absolutely, that you're adopted as God's child for all eternity, that all the work necessary to save you has been done by Jesus, and none depends on you? Can you remember the first time you were certain that you'll always be with Him?

Do you still feel that joy?

Some Christians live a kind of sine-wave life, up and down, up and down, all the time. Others live on a spiritual plateau for a long time, and then go down into a valley for a long time, and begin to wonder if they'll ever get out. Every Christian's experience is different. Every Christian life is a long and winding road (to mix my metaphors) and your road is different from mine. But Jesus is with you every step of the way.

When life gets very difficult, or very easy, we can forget that our priority is serving and loving Jesus, and communing with Him. But Paul writes to the little first-century church in Colossae in what is now western Turkey, and to us, saying, "just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him".

May our gratitude to Him never waver. May our devotion to Him never falter. May our valuation of Him never diminish. May none of us ever forget how wonderful He is.

One of the reasons that it's good for Christians to meet for worship and prayer is that we remind each other how beautiful Jesus is, how loving God the Father is, how powerful God the Holy Spirit is. With our songs, in our fellowship and in our prayers, we're stirred up to believe through each other's very presence.

Continue to live in Christ Jesus. Don't let there be one day when you're not living in Him. There will be moments when you disappoint yourself by the way you behave or the way you think. You'll catch yourself in some sort of negativity, but continue to live in Him, even on those days. Continue to talk to Him, even when you can't sense His presence. Continue to trust in Him even when you don't feel like He's answering your prayers the way you want Him to.

Continue to believe that He is truly the King of Kings, and He loves you with all His heart, because that's the truth, even when we're at the bottom of the valley.

Paul teaches us to be "rooted and built up in him". A tree needs a strong root, and a building needs a strong foundation. And the only safe foundation is Jesus Christ. But a tree or a building isn't supposed to just have a root or a foundation. They're supposed to grow. A building should be built up until it fulfils the architect's plan. A tree should grow, blossom and produce fruit, as the person who planted it intended.

We need to stay rooted, grounded, in Jesus. We need Jesus, and nothing else, to be the basis of our lives. But we should also grow into a human who truly glorifies God and bears fruit for Him.

No building grows itself, and trees don't really grow themselves, either. A tree grows by receiving nutrients and sunlight, and often because it has a skilled gardener. We grow in God because He's our master builder, because He's our sunshine, and because He provides us with all the spiritual nutrition we need. He's the perfect gardener. If we will cleave to Him and submit to Him we will grow up into all He has for us.

When you look at a tree, it doesn't appear to be growing, but it is. If you see a photo of it taken five years ago, you'll see what a difference there's been. Our lives are like that; sometimes we can't see ourselves growing in God, but we're not who we were. And we're not who we will be.

Paul urges us to be "strengthened in the faith as you were taught". We can infer that the early teachers in the Colossian church were good teachers. Some churches contain teachers who will teach the Bible clearly and faithfully. Other churches, other teachers, will teach very attractively, very eloquently, very persuasively, but will not teach the truth as found in scripture. Avoid them. The truth will set you free. The truth will build you up into all that you can be in Jesus.

We benefit enormously in many ways if we truly grasp what the true faith is. It's good to be strong in conviction that our doctrine is right. But we are also strengthened by the Holy Spirit to live out the faith. Being a Christian is not just about theory, what we believe; it's about how we live. We're to read the Bible, believe it, and then live accordingly, in obedience to scripture.

We grow up not all God has for us when we repent, when we choose to believe the Bible, not what we've been taught by other people, and do what it says.

And Paul teaches us to be "overflowing with thankfulness". Don't be heard complaining about the weather or the government, or your leaders, or your neighbours. It's not Christian. It's better to overflow with thankfulness. Don't you find that when you're with a Christian who says, "What a beautiful day" or "What a kind brother", "What a worshipful sister", "What a lovely church", "God answered my prayer today", it builds you up. I want to be that kind of Christian! I want to be thankful. I want to celebrate God's goodness, and my brothers and sisters in Christ, and my neighbours, and creation. It will do others good, it will do me good, and it will glorify God our creator.

If you develop the habit of finding something positive to say about people, something to thank God for, it will change your heart. And thankful Christians are happy Christians. You'll be more peaceful, more joyful, and you'll become more aware of the goodness around you.

Let us continue to live in Christ. Let us train our minds. Let us choose our thoughts. Let us build ourselves up in the faith, and let us build others up.