Smeagol is Free!
A hermitudinal view of...stuff...


10.04.2004  

Colossians 1:9 Part Two

As I thought about it, I realized that my post from earlier today did not completely capture the thoughts that I'd had from reading through Colossians 1 and 2, and then journaling my thoughts on chapter 1 verse 9. Therefore, here's the second post for today. If you're reading this but have not yet read the first post below, read that one first, then come back and read this. Cool? Cool.



"We have not ceased to pray for you..." Christ's prayers for us are unceasing; He lives to intercede for us before the Father, as He can do that righteously in view of His sacrificial atonement upon the cross once and for all. How is it, then, that we cease so easily from praying for our brethren? I know that my prayers are weak and frail, for they are constantly needing the fuel of God's word to be lit by the flame of His Holy Spirit in order to make them as incense rising before the Lord. It's a convicting statement that Paul makes concerning His prayer life for the church at Colossae, mainly because it springs forth from a deeply rooted conviction in Paul's heart. What is that conviction? The Gospel. If there were no gospel, Paul would not pray, for Christ would not have died and rose again to atone for our sin, nor would He live to intercede, nor would we be justified with Christ's righteousness imputed to us before the Father, nor would the Spirit work to make Christ dwell within our hearts. The gospel, the very truth that Christ is who He is and does what He does in our lives because He died and rose again, is the rock-bottom foundation of Paul's conviction to have "not ceased to pray." What a foundation, indeed :)



"Filled with the knowledge of His will..." Yes, the knowledge of the glory of God revealed in the face of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6) is tied in directly with knowing the good and perfect will of God. How can it not be? "Be holy, for I am holy." God's commands are all directly connected with proclaiming who He is! The Ten Commandments? They are given in view of who God is. The rest of the Law? Given that we might honor God in view of His eternal, glorious nature. Yet, is not the Law one that condemns? Yes, it is. The Law shows us not the way to life, but the inevitable and unalterable truth that our sin corrupts us in such a way that we will never properly honor the Lord. Sin is death to us. Where then is our saving knowledge of God to be found? In the ultimate revelation of God: the Word Incarnate, Jesus Christ. It is in Christ that we see the glory of God revealed in such a way that we are cleansed from our sin and death and drawn near to Him. It is in Christ that we taste and see that He is good, and we know the joy of being called heirs and children of God together with Christ. It is in Christ that we are given a more complete knowledge of God, which leads to true knowledge of His will.



"In all spiritual wisdom and understanding..." Last night, I had another great conversation with Andrew. When I think of wisdom, I think of Andrew. He has, for as long as I can remember knowing him (and that's been a long time), always sought out wisdom. I can safely say that he's grown in his wisdom, for his wisdom is rooted in the proper place: the fear of God. As we conversed, we reminisced on our rather lengthy friendship, speaking of how we've had our ups and downs (ugh...we've had a big time downer, believe me), yet wholeheartedly agreeing that it's all added up to a greater pouring forth of God's glory in our friendship. Perhaps a large part of that has come from spiritual wisdom and understanding. We've seen the good and bad sides of one another, and God's been gracious in allowing us to see beyond the heart of our brother and into the heart of Christ that dwells within. We fear the Lord together, we savor Christ together, and we continue to seek counsel from men far more Godly than ourselves. Will either one of us ever be considered wise? I don't know, but I do know this: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. If we are to be wise, we must always start there.

posted by Bolo | 5:35 PM
0 speakage
Free Hit
Counters
Dell Coupons
Daily
Read
Listen
Visualize
Blogging Buddies
Old School
Me
Bug Me
Yore
Factuality
Quotatious