You Know Christ, Now Just Live Him

Weddings, like many special occasions in life, hold opportunities for observations--not the least of which, love. But, there are also other timely reminders, like, for instance, the following reading that was read out as a young coupled tied the knot recently:

“My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving”

–Colossians 2:6-7 (Msg).

There are so many exaltations in Scripture telling us to go on with God, and not languish in the basic things of faith, like the sacraments and endless arguments over genealogies and theological ‘detail,’ for instance see Hebrews 6 and Titus 3.

The passage above, like the others, is a broken record for us… going on to fuller maturity requires a commitment to that goal. It requires us to sidestep opportunities (or perhaps these are better referred to as threats) at becoming stifled and stilted in our growth.

We can instead become deliberate and intentional in our walk with God. Instead of simply studying voraciously and still making unwise decisions all the time, we’re to study less, certainly, but we’re to study less theologically and more devotionally i.e. as it pertains to real life issues and our interaction with them.

And living the Word of God who is Jesus is summarised and known by one trait indicated by the final sentence of the passage above. This is the joy of thankfulness.

This is the key performance indicator for the Christian. Thanksgiving, and its close cousin, joy, should simply characterise our thinking and doing and filter through in all our relationships. These are signs we’re truly living him.

Copyright © 2009, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.