Disciplined for Life

February 24, 2013 Background Scripture: Colossians 4 Lesson Passage: Colossians 4:2 – 17 After having thoroughly refuted the heresy in the Colossian church, Paul closes his letter with instructions for righteous living. Note that none of the instructions given address the Sunday worship experience we tend to over emphasize today. Instead, Paul addresses the day in and day out concerns that we all encounter and how Christians should handle them. How are we as Christians to govern ourselves on the job, around non-Christians, concerning the welfare of fellow Christians, within the Christian community in general, and in the fulfillment of our ministries? Let’s see how Paul touches on each of these towards the end of this letter. On the job, supervisors (bosses, managers, coordinators, leaders, etc.) are admonished to remember that God is above them on whatever organization chart they may be listed on. Therefore, be fair and just with those you have oversight of knowing that we desire the same for ourselves from the Lord who has oversight of everyone. It helps to not forget where we have come from since none of us were born managers. We received help from many along the way including both Christians and non-Christians. Therefore, our behavior around non-Christians should be such that it exemplifies the witness of Christ in us. They should not see religion when they are around us but rather a Christ-like demeanor. Our behavior should suggest that we are being guided by a godly wisdom. We should always be prepared to defend our faith; not in an argumentative manner but in the way of explanation for those whose curiosity may be aroused by our manner of living. We should be prayerful for those who are our fellow Christian workers. Not only should we pray for their success but also that their way would be made easy. God can provide opportunities that would not otherwise be available. We should petition God for those unseen opportunities on behalf of others just as we would for ourselves. We rejoice in knowing that other Christians are sincerely concerned about our welfare. Why wouldn’t we want others to experience the same joy when they learn of our concern for them? Finally, encourage others to fulfill their ministry. I am convinced that God has gifted each of us in the body of Christ for the benefit of the body. This is in accordance with what the scriptures reveal to us in Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth. Because of this, I conclude that when someone around me does not fulfill the ministry God has given them, then I come short of the benefits God has for me as part of the body of Christ. There is no bench member position in the body of Christ. Perhaps the local church of yesteryear created that position to appease those who wanted to be included in the membership but did not want to commit themselves to serve in ministry. Nevertheless, everyone in the body of Christ has a part to play or a ministry to fulfill. We should not sit back and hope that others will come to their senses one day but realize that we are losing out and therefore we should become encouragers of others—rather, we should provoke them to love and good works. All of these steps will help discipline us for life. When we are disciplined for life by the word of God, then our walk will align with our talk. Robert C. Hudson February 12, 2013