Hello and welcome to Thursday’s Foundations Podcast. Today’s reading is Colossians 1:9-14 – It’s a hope filled prayer for the church Paul is writing to in Colossae – I am so glad we have started reading out the whole Bible passage at the end of the podcast – This one is absolutely jam packed full of incredible statements of faith… it will be a fantastic way to end this thought so you have that to look forward to.

REFLECTION

We can’t cover everything so to keep this one focussed on verses 10 and 11.

Let me read them out for us now.

This is what Paul says he has been praying for the Church in Colosse… [We had been praying for you…] … so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and 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,

Something that we talked about yesterday has appeared again today… this idea of bearing fruit in every good work… How do we feel about the blessing of God over our lives is to be fruitful? Jesus said it himself in John 15… “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last” – John 15v16. Fruitfulness is not an accidental, or just for the “good” Christians (whoever they are)… If we are to take these words seriously, it sounds like they are Gods plan for our life. God has made us for fruitfulness. We may never know why God chose any of us, that remains the mystery of grace & the gospel, but we know the purpose why he chose us. That seems to come out in the words with have in the Bible passage today: To live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.

Before it gets to bearing fruit what we read first is that we are to live life worthy of the Lord – what does that mean & what does that look wherever we are joining in listening to this podcast? We can hear this phrase and sometimes count ourselves out before the game has started. I’m not a smart enough student, I have not been asked or don’t feel like I can lead a Cluster, I cant make an impact, I’m not in the right job to that. But the primary intention behind these words is not about things we are doing or the cards that we have been dealt. They are about who we are becoming like. If we ask ourselves, what does “living a life worthy of the Lord” look like in an ordinary human life? It is Jesus, to become more like Jesus.The primary intention about living a life for God is not: artist, doctor, mother/father, Cluster Leader, vicar etc… the primary intention is to be more like Jesus.

Learning to be like who it is that he is.

Well what do we need to do that? Paul helpfully prays for some tools that might help us get started?

Again reading v10 – “strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience”

The help of the Holy Spirit is required. Strengthening by the power of God. But its odd that he prays for endurance and patience. We are to get the hint that this is a process, this one might not be a I’ll take it in a cup-to-go I’m busy kind of deal. There is no 10 step program or gap year that can make this happen. This is life long discipleship. And when you think about it – it does make sense… becoming like Jesus takes time… Just like how love for someone deepens over time…. Growth in character doesn’t come over night… faith doesn’t just appear… its sown like a seed that grows that anchors itself and the shoots start to appear and bear fruit. Its like a seed planted in a field… its like yeast that is workings its way through dough… with the Holy Spirit at work and with endurance and patience… we are being transformed into the likeness of Jesus.