“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father” Col 1.1-2 (New International Version translation)
What’s in a greeting? The intended recipient and the sender? Yes, but in this greeting, there is so much more.
The sender is Paul, whom we have already determined is a walking miracle. Here he identifies this miracle by attributing who he is – “an apostle of Christ Jesus” – to the ever powerful “will of God”. He notes within the very first sentence that it is not his own will that makes him who he is, but the will of our creator. His life, and his position in it, is only possible because God willed it. God made him who he is and enabled him to do the very things he is doing because God willed it to be so, not because of what Paul willed, but regardless of it.
Here Timothy is also mentioned, referred to as a brother. Not a brother by the same parents, but a brother and by the shared hope and bond found in Christ. This attribution of family, while easily overlooked, is the first mention in this letter of the type of bond that is created in Christ. We become family in Christ, tied together and sharing in the love, protection and joy that is found in healthy families. The familial terms continue when Paul address the people of the church as brother and sisters.
Paul locates the people of the Colossae church both physically in Colossae, but also spiritually located in Christ. This spiritual location is a key concept throughout the entirety of this letter. As believers we are spiritually located in Christ, and it is this spiritual location that allows us to live our lives as Christians. This spiritual location gives us the confidence that our sins have been forgiven, because we have found Christ and Christ is in us and we now live through him. This theology is expanded upon in this letter, so if the concept is not clear, that’s okay.
The concept of being in Christ and Christ being in us may take prayer to fully grasp, because there is no other human relationship like it. When we accept Christ as our savior – having been crucified on a cross to fulfill the debt we owe for our own mistakes, shortcomings, misbehaviors, and other sins – that is when we find ourselves in Christ. He is our blanket of protection. He surrounds us, he fills our hearts, and we rest in his peaceful presence.
While silly, I like to imagine an armed guardian angel standing at the door to my home, the walls impenetrable. This visual gives me something to imagine that reflects what it is to be in Christ. It is to be protected, it is to be safe, warm, comforted, and well fed. This is of course, just a visual I use to imagine my spiritual location in Christ. Even on days when the weather is cold, or I’ve gone too long without eating, my physical body is what feels the lack. My spiritual being, in Christ, never wants for anything when I stay rooted in Christ. It is when we wander away from this from him that our spirit longs for comfort.
“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love you have for all God’s people” Col 1.3-4 (NIV)
After the greeting, Paul starts with thanksgiving. This is a beautiful metaphor for how we should start everything as well. Every day, every project, everything – we should start with thanksgiving. We should start by thanking God for each and every blessing, lesson, and opportunity. We should start with giving thanks that Jesus is who he is, he has done what he has done, and that we are enabled to live a life in him by his will.
“because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love you have for all God’s people – the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel” Col 1.4-5 (NIV)
In giving thanks for the people of the church of Colossae, Paul lists the attributes of the people of God: faith, hope, and love.
Faith is not just having faith, but specifically having faith in Christ Jesus. Love is not just loving conveniently but loving ALL God’s people. Loving anyone that God has created (everyone), loving anyone that God calls his own (everyone). It is not a romantic love, but a supernatural love, a love that loves despite shortcomings, a love that holds a standard without assigning undue shame, it is a love that requires patience, a love that reprimands kindly, a love that gives generously, a love that admonishes fellow believers to righteousness, a love that puts a stop to hate. It is a love that prays for enemies, a love that shows compassion, and a love that rebukes evil. This love will not come easily but must be sought after, practiced, prayed about. This type of love that believers are called to practice is what will set us apart from non-believers in this world. This is the love that shares in the sorrow of those mourning, that shares in the joy of those celebrating, that disciplines children into kind, thoughtful adults.
This love is not possible by our own power but is only possible through Christ. This love spring from our hope in heaven. This hope is not the same hope as “I hope my team wins tomorrow” or even “I hope it is warm this summer” – but this hope is the confident expectation of things to come. This hope is knowing that this promise is already fulfilled, and that all there is left is to wait, confidently knowing that these things will come to pass. We know, as believers, that our home is not waiting for us here, but our forever home is in the Kingdom of Heaven. This kingdom is not a far away dream land, and in fact we see glimpses of this kingdom with every sunrise, every newborn’s first breathe, every flower in bloom, and in every act of selfless love. The kingdom of heave is at hand in the lives of believers because Christ is already with us. The kingdom of heaven is also yet to come when the end of the age comes to pass, and every believer is called home to live for eternity in heaven where evil will not have a foothold. This is the hope we share as believers. This is the message that was given to them when they heard the gospel: that they could share in this inheritance of nearly too-good-to-be-true paradise, despite their (our) consistent failures, they (we) too can be given entry to the perfect kingdom.
How? Why? Because Jesus. He is who he is, and he did what he did. Because the God we worship is a God of love. Because our God is a God of justice. Because God said so.
When I was younger, I used to ask “why?” a lot. All the time. I asked my mom “why?” and “how?” about everything. When the answer was something that my little child brain could not comprehend, or wasn’t any of my business, she told me “because I said so.” So today, if you feel the need to ask “why?” or “how?” in relation to the Gospel, it is because God said so.
His rationale may be too complex for our little brains, or it may simply be none of our business. After all, as the creator of the universe it seems fair that God gets to have final say just because.
Even so, we know that we can confidently expect to partake in the kingdom of heaven through the grace given us by Christ, because we have the faith in Christ that he is who he says he is, and he did what he said he did. It is this hope, this expectation, that we can draw on when we struggle to love in the supernatural way that we are called to love.
How can you demonstrate faith today? This week?
How can you love today? This week?
How could this practice of supernatural love change the way you live your life? In an unfathomable way certainly.
As always, I am but a work in progress.
Cheers.