Colossians is from Paul written to the saints and faithful in Christ at Colosse (and through Christ us). The chapter begins by Paul stating that they (him and Timotheus) pray and give thanks for the saints and their faith in Christ.
Paul states that he has heard of the faith known in this church, he had also heard that these were saints who had a heart and compassion for other saints. They were known for their love in the Spirit. How do others see us? Do they see God’s compassion and mercy in us? Do they see love for humanity in us? We need to be mindful of how we come off to others, but we also need to be mindful of our hearts. Do we love others like we should? Do we care for others like we should? Have we grown selfish and self centered or do we show love when others see us by our actions? Ask God to help you address matters of the heart, see if anything like this needs to be addressed and replaced with His love, grace and mercy. When others see the body of Christ, they should see people who love others, who show compassion and mercy to all. Traits that go opposite of this would be slandering, mocking or gossiping. This is something the body of Christ gets tempted with; gossip and slander. I have often been asked, how can you tell if its gossip verses just having a conversation? The answer I was told years back that still seems accurate today is: if you aren’t apart of the solution then you have no right to be talking about whatever the conversation is. If you are apart of the solution but the person you are sharing the story with isn’t, then that is gossiping. Regardless of if we are involved in helping the solution or not, we should never, ever slander, mock or make fun of anyone. Regardless if that person is doing evil things or not, they are still a creation made by Christ; pray for them to receive the Holy Spirit and not be prey to the evil spirit working in them making them do those evil things. We need to have compassion for ALL of Gods creations, no matter how evil their actions may be. (Dislike the sin but love the sinner.)
We as the body today, need to learn from where the body of christ was in the New Testament; what they looked like and how they imaged Christ and things they needed to work on. Paul said that he prays for the saints (us) to be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding so that we might walk worthy of the Lord, being fruitful in every good work; increasing in the knowledge of God. We need to always remain teachable, humbled and ready to learn and constantly growing and transforming in Christ. We should never get to the point to where we think we know it all, or anywhere close to that. We should be in a place that the more we learn, the less we really know.
We need patience and we need to be patient with joy. The other day I was at an appointment and I was in the waiting room for an hour and a half before being seen. I was waiting patiently, I wasn’t complaining to the staff like the gal sitting next to me, however I wasn’t filled with joy. I started in joy and after 15 minutes of waiting it began to fade. After about 40 minutes of waiting I started to, for a moment, get annoyed. Then God convicted me and showed me that instead of falling into impatience and annoyance I should be praising Him that I have time now carved out in the busy day to pray, worship and commune with Him. My attitude was wrong, but because I was open to being renewed in my thought God showed me how I should have been viewing this situation. I had an hour and a half carved out of a busy day to sit and praise Him, talk with Him internally and just fellowship with Him without interruption and I almost waisted the whole time by losing patience and joy in the patience. Seeing how the church at Colosse was known by, shows us how we should appear to others and how our mindset needs to be renewed in Christ, in His constant knowledge and wisdom. We don’t seek after that, we simply seek Him. Seek first the kingdom of God and all things will be added. When we stop seeking Him is when we lose the patience, the joy in patience and we miss out on Knowing Him more and receiving His knowledge and wisdom that we can’t gain from the world.
The body of Christ is entering a new season of learning that starts by evaluating our hearts, seeing where we are with Christ and where we need to be. The first half of this chapter really gives perspective on where we need to be, and the things that can prevent us from being there. I encourage everyone to go to God this week and ask Him, how is your heart? What needs to be addressed. Repent and allow Him to purify you, making you more in His image and closer to Him; resembling His Love to all who see you.