The Continuum: Rooted, Built Up & StrengthenedSample

DAY 5 - CONTINUE TO STAY STRONG

Colossians 2:7, "rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."

Paul goes on to encourage the Colossians to, continue to be strengthened in the faith. What does this mean? He is asking them to make themselves strong. It begs the question; why should they do this, what should they make themselves strong in and how should they make themselves strong?

Let us reflect on each of these components.

WHY

This becomes evident in the verses that follow verse 7. We will come to that in a bit.

I think to myself about the different things that I can be strong in; many things can shape my thinking, my opinions and I can become strong in those. Having a strong conviction is a very good quality. If I do not have strong convictions, I can be taken “captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.” Col 2:8

Therefore, what are these convictions? What has shaped them – what are the value systems and the underlying ethos of those convictions?

People today have strong convictions about many things like animal rights, forest conservation, etc. Some of these things are not bad in themselves, but if I do not have a healthy overarching paradigm for my understanding of life and environment, my convictions could get skewed and a little misplaced.

The Colossians were not strangers to these threats as we can see from the warning that follows in verse 8. Paul is warning them not to get swayed by every wind of doctrine or argument or new-fangled idea that was floating around. People were mixing what they were taught with the philosophies of the day, the prevailing religious beliefs, a mixture of the law and grace. It was starting to look like a hot mess. Kingdom culture is counter to the culture of kingdoms around us. We need to not only maintain but set the culture around us. Paul was cautioning them against the adulteration of the gospel and to continue in what they were taught by the apostles and other trustworthy leaders.

Are we not facing the same today? We find that today what is considered wrong or sinful in the bible is now undermined and challenged. “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil who put darkness for light and light for darkness.” Isaiah 5:20 

Fresh laws are drawn up every so often to call wrong right and vice versa. To call sin, sin has indeed now become “a sin”. What a tragedy! Humanism has always tried to replace God and His standard as being the plumb line for our lives.

I like the way Paul always states the principle first and then addresses the practice. This is important lest we dismiss the principle as Paul’s opinion that we have an option to be convinced of or not.

Recently someone challenged my principles and practice in an area of her life, saying it worked for my generation but will not work for hers! Beware the danger of thinking the issues of this generation are exclusive. We have faced some issues for generations and for 1000s of years. How it shows up may change. 

Example, thousands of years ago an idle mind wandering on a terrace got caught in the web of adultery. Today it is an idle mind wandering the Web for pornography that is trapped in the same web of unfaithfulness. Another example is hanging out with a colleague of the opposite sex at the coffee shop, which could lead to an emotional connection that then leads to more. Translate this to any area of life. The problems may show up differently, but the roots of it are the same and the principles to stay healthy are constant and eternal.

Therefore, the principle that Paul is stating is to be strengthened in the faith. From this, I understand that there are things that I could get strong in that could lead me away from the faith. Do not find strength in other things like one’s career, money, relationships.

REFLECT AND ASK YOURSELF

Do I have strong opinions, convictions that do not find a base in scripture?

Do I find myself saying these biblical principles won’t work in this generation? It is a signal that you need to renew the way you think by studying the Word of God more closely.

What thought or behavior pattern is God putting a finger on today? Write it down, work on it and find a trusted friend you can be accountable to for your growth.

REFERENCE

Col 2:6-7