Colossians 1:9-14

Colossians 1:9-14  For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,  being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.  For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 

After rejoicing in the Colossians' understanding of God's grace in all its truth because they learned the word of truth from Epaphras, Paul moves on in today's passage to share his constant prayer for these believers for God to reveal the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.  He does not imply he prays these prayers that they might escape suffering or trials by prospering physically and financially, free from any spiritual demands.  Instead, he says, prayers go up in their behalf "that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,  being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light."  He reminds them they are servants, called by the Lord to bear good fruit by growing in him, finding their strength through the power and might of the Holy Spirit.  With this strength, he prays they will run the race faithfully with fortitude as patient and joyful children of God, giving thanks to their heavenly Father who has adopted them into his family, bringing them from the bondage of darkness into the kingdom of the Son where all who trust in the Lord are forgiven and made free from sin.  This is the inheritance of the saints--an eternal birthright of the redeemed that does not decay.  Peter understood this inheritance when he wrote:  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  (1 Peter 1:3-7)

Modern-day believers sometimes want to ignore the countless scriptures that clearly state we are sojourners in this world, people passing through, not permanent citizens of this world.  Ignoring the full gospel, we adopt a faith that mixes the American dream with pop psychology, self-help ideas, and a selfish desire to have all we can get.  Then we call our me-first lifestyle God's blessing, forgetting much of what Jesus said when He walked on this Earth about taking up the cross and following him.  We sing, "I surrender all," while accumulating all we can for ourselves and giving a little bit of our time, energy, and resources to the kingdom of God.  We serve God in the good times of plenty when things go well and the blessings outweigh the trials; but when we face chronic illness, financial reversals, huge disappointments, heartbreaking betrayals, or prolonged hardships, our hearts so easily turn to stone and suddenly we blame God.  For Christians the age-old enigmas remains:  Why do bad things happen to good people?  Why do hardworking believers suddenly lose their jobs and search unsuccessfully for months for another one?  Why do Christian couples remain childless when nonbelievers have children they do not even appreciate or nurture?  Why do faithful Christians die young or face one difficulty after another while so many ungodly folks live seemingly long and prosperous lives?   Why do people seem to forget about the needs of others as they become more successful in life?  Why do the wealthy give a smaller percentage of their money to the work of the Lord while the poor give generously out of their need?  We could pose countless why questions such as these.  The prophet Jeremiah said, You are always righteous, O LORD, when I bring a case before you.  Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper?  Why do all the faithless live at ease?  (Jeremiah 12:1)  Soon after the flood, God said evil was in man's heart continually.

When we read Jesus' words, He does not address the social injustices of his time, but He does address the heart: These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  (Matthew 15:8)  Neither does the Apostle Paul deal with these earthly problems to any extent.  Paul rarely speaks of his own hardships except to let believers know he suffered for the sake of the gospel, encouraging them to rejoice in their trials.  He repeats this often, saying at one point, "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have."  (Philippians 1:29-30)  He held little interest in this transitory life other than telling people to live for Christ.  Focussing on the celestial world rather than the terrestrial, Paul declares those who are not IN CHRIST remain in spiritual darkness.  He says if we dwell in the kingdom of the Son, we are alive through the cross of Christ, and we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.  Understanding these basic truths of the spiritual world by the power of the Holy Spirit, we must remember who we are and why we live and have our being.  With this spiritual wisdom and understanding, we can say with the saints of the ages what Paul wrote to the church when he taught grace: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  (Galatians 2:20)  With the knowledge we are SAVED BY FAITH, alive IN CHRIST, and strengthen by HIS GLORIOUS POWER, we should not become bogged down with the enigmas of life.  We should live JOYFULLY in the Truth of the SPIRIT.  We should live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way.  By faith we should bear fruit in every good work, grow in the knowledge of God, be strong in his power, run with great endurance and patience, give thanks to the Father for bringing us into the kingdom of light.  Yes, life IS hard to understand sometimes, especially when we are experiencing adverse circumstances and when our hearts break in times of great sorrow and pain.  But God is on the throne!  He never leaves us, never forsakes us.  He comforts us with a mother's loving kindness and tender mercies.  The purpose of life is to know, love and serve him and to live for him and with him forever.  He has rescued us!  Rejoice!  Amen!