Firstly, verses 18 to 21. "It's just a bunch of stuff to do!" you say. "Nothing encouraging in there" you say. Well, I see it differently. Let's take a closer look at verse 20.
"Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord."
Look! The first word. "Children". Paul is talking to me! He is talking directly to the kids in the Colossian church. The whole sequence, "Wives" , "Husbands" , "Children" , "Fathers" is one of a family unit. I think that is just great.
Great, because church, even at its beginnings was a family affair. All over the New Testament it talks of the gathering together of Christians. Brothers and sisters, united in Christ. I took that as an only spiritual familyhood until now. Christians are attending church as a family; encouraging, inspiring, and challenging each other. I've been learning that God's love breaks barriers, and this is another example. Imagine a non-Christian household where a younger brother can rebuke his older brother! Very rare. But in a Christian church, that is what we are called to do.
Now, if you look at what he says to each of the groups, you notice another great thing. His words are different for each member. Reading behind the lines you see that Paul is recognising the different roles we have in our family unit. Paul could have just said, "Christian families, love each other" and leave us to figure out how, but he doesn't. By being specific, he is making a statement that family members are complementary, and that our differences are part of God's plan.
"Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord."
Look! The first word. "Children". Paul is talking to me! He is talking directly to the kids in the Colossian church. The whole sequence, "Wives" , "Husbands" , "Children" , "Fathers" is one of a family unit. I think that is just great.
Great, because church, even at its beginnings was a family affair. All over the New Testament it talks of the gathering together of Christians. Brothers and sisters, united in Christ. I took that as an only spiritual familyhood until now. Christians are attending church as a family; encouraging, inspiring, and challenging each other. I've been learning that God's love breaks barriers, and this is another example. Imagine a non-Christian household where a younger brother can rebuke his older brother! Very rare. But in a Christian church, that is what we are called to do.
Now, if you look at what he says to each of the groups, you notice another great thing. His words are different for each member. Reading behind the lines you see that Paul is recognising the different roles we have in our family unit. Paul could have just said, "Christian families, love each other" and leave us to figure out how, but he doesn't. By being specific, he is making a statement that family members are complementary, and that our differences are part of God's plan.
My friend and I spent over 20 minutes on those 4 verses, but I'm glad we did. It showed me how families are another one of God's gifts that I would never have thought to ask for, but am blessed with anyway.
To end with, Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters". I'm sure I can let you discover the riches in that verses for yourself. So dig in!
I really like coming across Christian verses on your blog. Some of them are deep and inspiring, like the last one you've quoted here. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Ghadeer. The first half of Colossians 3 is also very encouraging, if you want to take a look at that.
DeleteSome trivia - "Inspired" actually comes from the Greek "God breathed" which is exactly what the bible is! No wonder it gets deep.
Thank you for your thoughts on the scripture and the family. We are all God's family and in our own family we have the training ground for life. Families are the most important. Loved this one and blessings to you!
ReplyDeleteYou're right LeAnn. I have always wondered the connection between our physical and spiritual family and how they should work together. Thanks you!
DeleteSo is this your favourite bible verse? Personally my favourite is Ezekiel 23:20
ReplyDeleteEzekiel has some strong imagery representing Israel's rejection of God, doesn't it! My favourite verse changes from time to time, but for now it's Jeremiah 29:11. You could say Colossians is my favourite book in the bible.
DeleteHmm that's an interesting one. Did you look mine up?
DeleteI did. And I read the whole chapter too. It's all a metaphor for Israel's rejection of God. Is that really your favorite verse?
DeleteWell, it's certainly an interesting thing to include. How do you know it's a metaphor? It seemed a quite literal situation. Highly disturbing, but literal.
DeleteIf you read the whole chapter, it seems figurative by the fact that all the "lovers" she had were neighbouring countries of Israel.
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