August 30, 2016: Day 93 – Colossians 4
August 31, 2016And so it ends. It is really hard to believe that we have completed not one, but two 90 Day Challenges. We end on Paul’s greeting to the church in Colossae. I love what he says in vs.5. He reminds us to conduct ourselves wisely with outsiders, and make the most of our time. So much of our ministry has to be focused on outsiders that at a certain point we should be feeling like outsiders as well. We should never, ever make outsiders feel, well, like outsiders. The only way to make an outsider feel like an insider is to make them know that what they say and who they are is important to us. We don’t want them to become like us, we want to become and learn from them. That’s hard to do.
In these final greetings I think of those who work behind the scenes here at FPC. I think of people who are never recognized, who do the sound, the media, who set out the flowers and make sure the communion is ready. I think of those who conscientiously make their way through the church looking for things that need to be repaired or thrown out. I think of those who teach and don’t ask for accolades. Our church is filled with Marks, and Barnabasses, and Epaphras, and Tychicus and many others. There are almost too many to mention by name.
Do you notice who he does mention by name? He speaks about a certain Luke who was a physician. Many think this is the writer of the Gospel of Luke. He also mentions a letter from Laodicea that was to be read aloud. The problem is that we don’t have that letter any longer. We don’t have a letter to the church in Laodicea. What we do have is the church mentioned in the Revelation in Laodicea.
So I will leave you as the Apostle Paul left Archippus: “See that you complete the task that you have received in the Lord.”
The final quote reminds me of the old joke about the man who fall overboard while traveling across the sea. As he watches his ship drift away a piece of driftwood comes by from no where and he doesn’t grab it thinking the Lord will save him. A short time later something else floats by and again he lets it pass by thinking the Lord will save him. The man finally tires and drowns. Upon entering heaven he asks the Lord, “Lord, I was drowning and you did not save me; why?” The Lord looks at him and says “My son, I sent you a piece of drift wood to cling to and several other objects to keep you afloat and rest but you let them pass by. What did you think would happen?”
My point is sometimes we are so busy doing what WE think the Lord wants us to do that sometimes it is not until we slow down and really LISTEN that we discover what we are supposed to do.
So sorry to see it end. I have learned so much and spent a lot of time studying Paul which I have not done before.
Look forward to version III