Recover Your Identity as a Child of GodSample

  

Pleasing God, Bearing Fruit, and Growing in the Knowledge of God 

In Colossians 1:10 Paul mentions three essential actions: pleasing God, bearing fruit, and growing in the knowledge of God. These are related to our identity as children of God.

Pleasing God in all we do has to do with being made in His image. God wants to restore that idea in every individual. Bearing fruit has to do with being created in His likeness and comes as a result of His life. I please God because I am made in His image, and I do His works, not mine. I grow in knowledge as part of a long process, not in an instant. The process of getting to know God never ends; we are constantly being transformed into His image and likeness. 

I please God by who I am in Him, not by my own merits. This leads me to bear fruit, which is related to what I do. Who I am and what I know causes my actions. I have to be careful of the relationships I expose myself to because they can stop my process. I choose the people I surround myself with because of who I am, understanding my calling in the Kingdom of God. 

I please God because Christ is within me. I bear fruit because Christ works through me. I grow in knowledge because I have the mind of Christ. 

Pleasing God in all I do has to do with my character. Bearing fruit has to do with my works. Knowledge has to do with what I believe and comprehend, and I begin to understand that which was revealed to me.

Pleasing God in all I do has to do with the will of the Father. Bearing fruit in all things has to do with my emotions; if they are damaged, I cannot bear the fruit of the Spirit. Thus, I begin to show the shortcomings that prevent the fruit of God from manifesting in my life. Knowledge is the mind of Christ.

Pleasing God is what I have in God. I bear fruit because I express what I have. I grow in knowledge because I have been enlightened, which produces in me the order of the new creation.