Family

Colossians 3. A great passage I read with my friend the other day. The first half is great, but for us, the Holy Spirit engrossed us in the back half.

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.

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!

Growth

Q. How have you grown in faith in the past year?

A. You can see my growth in my posts I put up here. I've grown in my love for God.

Q. How have you grown in faith in the past month?

A. You can see here and here, the things I've learnt in the past month, which have kept me growing.

Q. How have you grown in faith in the past week?

A. Um... 

I was asked to answer these questions in a conversation recently, and the last question caught me off guard. I was tempted to say, "I was busy", or "It wasn't a priority" but I knew such excuses couldn't cut it. I had 'paused' my growth during the week.

You could argue that I've been growing enough lately, or if it's only for a week then it's fine, but that wouldn't be true. I am a tree, and I want to continue growing, even if it is by a little bit at a time. I never want to 'pause' growth in my love for Jesus.

A short post today, but only because I feel some other things I want to say need their own post to develop fully. So get excited for next week!

So, what will you do to grow in faith this week?

Faults

A great way to get to know someone is for them to share their faults with you. Because so often, we see people's highlight reels, and compare them with our own unedited mess of a life. This stunts mutual encouragement and friendship. As Christians especially, since we know we are forgiven, our problems are a testament to God's amazing grace! So today I want to share some of my own faults with you.

A little humorous perhaps, but I have a problem with fiddling. I can't stop myself shifting/moving wherever I am. Even now my leg is shaking constantly as I sit at my computer and type away. My hands need to have something to play with. You can laugh, but if my family is anything to go by, it is quite an annoying habit to endure for so long. And it get can have serious consequences. Like when my mind felt like "fiddling" with a fire by throwing in a deodorant can. Luckily no one was hurt.

More widespread, and perhaps more acceptable is my fault of lying. I will lie for no reason. Often justified with a weak paranoia that if I tell the truth, it won't be accepted and will cause a hassle. It seems a defence for self-consciousness but it just erodes away the trust built around my life. I wish that someday I can start a sentence with "On my word" and be trusted because I never lie.

To top it off, like a cherry on top, is my arrogance. It's a trait that is hard to talk about, because I fear I'll be arrogant about my arrogance. It rarely gets rebuked by my friends or family because of its subtlety, but sometimes it's scent becomes a stench that I am ashamed of. It leads me to disregard the skills and blessings God has given me, attributing them to myself. It leads me to judge/put down/insult others that I should be loving instead.

So there you have it. Three of my many many negative traits that create disharmony with others and with God.

The great thing is, other people might reject me, but God won't turn his back on me, God won't severe the relationship, he'll pick up my life and slowly put back the pieces he originally created, until they become the perfect being they were meant to be. Without sin, without fault.