In Him

Colossians 2:6-7 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

People often ask what it looks like for someone to live a faithful Christian life. And there are a variety of answers to this question. Some would say a Christian life looks no different than any other life. Christians are such hypocrites, that they look just like us.

Others would say that the whole notion of a standard that should be followed is folly. We have progressed past the notion of an objective right and wrong. The Christian life can look any way an individual wants it to look, since there is no external source of a moral standard.

There are still others who have a long list of do’s and don’t’s that comprise their vision of living for Jesus in the present age. But these lists are often culturally centered and time-limited. These lists only reflect the efforts to bring holiness similar to the way the Old Testament Jews attempted to live by the Law. But these contemporary rule-followers will fail the achieve holiness, just as their predecessors did.

But when we look at the New Testament we do see some standards. We read in the book of Acts about the struggle to maintain the freedom that non-Jewish followers of Jesus had discovered. They were only given a very short list of things to do in order to keep peace between the Jewish and non-Jewish followers of Jesus.

As Paul writes to the Colossian believers, he gives us glimpses of what he believes Christians look like as they live out their faith. The first thing he sees is a continuity between the faith they had in the beginning of their journey and the faith they continue to live. They had begun their journey by believing the Good News of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. That News had changed their lives.

The message they had received changed their foundation in life. They used to live based on very different beliefs and practices. Now they are rooted and built up in Him. They draw spiritual nutrition directly from Christ. They submit themselves to the lordship of Christ in their daily lives. They stay connected to Jesus.

They are also paying attention to the teaching they had received. They aren’t out looking for a new revelation or seeking the newest teaching. They have found Truth, and they are willing to stick with the Truth. And this is where so many of today’s church slides off track. Instead of sticking with the Truth of the Gospel, they move into the abyss of modern “progressive” theology, anchored nowhere and always drifting.

Paul also sees thankfulness as a hallmark of these Colossian believers. Is thankfulness a hallmark of your life? It was for these believers, even when persecution came. Perhaps we can learn from them!