Tag Archives: Strong ties of love

MORE THAN PRAYER – 2

Prayer, ,

Colossians 2:1-3 NLT
[1] “I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally. [2] I want them to be encouraged and knit together by STRONG TIES OF LOVE. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. [3] In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

There are two themes in Paul’s prayers for the churches he did not found, at Colosse, Laodicea, and other believers who, he said, “…have not met me personally.”

These two themes recur throughout the New Testament – union with Christ and love for one another. These two simple requirements lay the foundation for our lives as children of God and citizens of His kingdom.

1 John 2:3-6 NLT
[3] “And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. [4] If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. [5] But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. [6] Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.”

Two laws replace the complicated legal system of the Old Covenant.

1 John 3:23 NLT
[23]”And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us.”

Every other detail of our lives as believers in Jesus falls under these two simple directives. As I have written many times over, Jesus has called us into union with Himself, to live under His authority and to love His family. What could be more simple than that?

Loving God’s children is the counterpart of loving Jesus. Only by showing genuine love for the wellbeing of God’s children can we demonstrate the genuineness of our love for Him.

John majored on this principle in his first letter. How can we say we love God if we don’t demonstrate our love for Him by the way we treat each other in His family?

Loving one another in practical ways is the evidence of our love for Jesus.

1 John 2:7, 10 NLT
[7] “Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before…
[10] Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble.”

How can we show our love for a fellow believer? By many practical ways of meeting their needs at our own expense.

1 John 3:11, 14, 16-18 NLT
[11]”This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another…
[14] If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead…
[16] We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. [17] If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? [18] Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.”

The Bible shows us ways in which we can express our love for Jesus by loving His people.

  1. By many practical ways of meeting needs. Food and clothing, shelter and care, are all part of the way we can express our love.
  2. By living in peace and harmony with one another, forgiving and restoring broken relationships, preserving unity by humble submission to one another.
  3. By bearing one another’s burdens, by encouragement, support, and prayer.
  4. By building one another up in our mutual faith in Christ.
  5. By using our spiritual gifts to serve one another.

It is not possible for us to participate in one another’s lives in all these ways but, as we are gifted by the Holy Spirit to serve one another, we are a mosaic of loving service to our church family. Doing life together in a community of faith is a powerful witness to outsiders of the power of the gospel. Jesus said that it is our love for one another and the unity that binds us together that bears witness that the Father sent Him.

How much better, then, when opportunity arises, to spend time taking care of the needs of fellow believers than using time, effort, and money preparing programmes and planning conferences and seminars which are, in the end, mostly forgotten!

Life in this generation is fast and furious. Loving each other is a way to slow down, and take time to minister life to the body of Christ that is meaningful and productive.

MORE THAN PRAYER

Prayer, ,

Colossians 2:1-3 NLT
[1] “I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally. [2] I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. [3] In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Paul used the Greek word “agon” to explain his desire for these Colossian believers.

(Strong’s g73

Ribust : ἀγών

  • Transliteration: agón
  • Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
  • Phonetic Spelling: ag-one’
  • Definition: an (athletic) contest; hence, a struggle (in the soul).
  • Origin: From ago; properly, a place of assembly (as if led), i.e. (by implication) a contest (held there); figuratively, an effort or anxiety.
  • Usage: conflict, contention, fight, race.
  • Translated as (count): conflict (2), fight (2), a struggle (1), race (1)….)

Familiar as he was with the Greek culture of games, Paul saw his role in the lives of these new believers as one who was in a race, contending for the prize of spiritual maturity for these believers.

The English words, “agony” and “agonise” come from this Greek word. In its derivation, there is a sense of profound emotion, energy, and labour. Paul was not just talking about this matter to the Lord. He was agonising in prayer for these believers, using up his spiritual energy so that Christ in them would be so powerfully at work that they would become mature in their faith and behaviour, reflecting the Christ who was in them.

Paul had no time for armchair believers…passengers who jumped on the bandwagon for the ride. He wasn’t satisfied with church-going, Bible-believing, tithing, praying, “witnessing” Christans. He was only interested in radically transformed, emerging replicas of Jesus, living as citizens of heaven in a fallen world.

He did not fully know the content of Epaphras’ preaching and teaching that had brought them to faith in Jesus. He used this opportunity to fill in all the details of their understanding so that their faith would be grounded in the whole truth.

Paul knew how important it was for these ex-pagans to have a solid foundation of truth on which to build their new lives. They had the Old Covenant from their ex-Jewish brothers in the church as preparation, but they needed the New Covenant interpretation as the rock on which to stand.

They lived in dangerous times. They were surrounded by hostile neighbours who were on the lookout for victims to accuse. Both Jews and Greeks were unsympathetic towards them. Without the confidence in God’s love and protection provided in the gospel, without the assurance of God’s supernatural power at work in them, without the confidence of their union with Jesus, they would not be able to stand their ground against persecution.

Many of their fellow believers were perishing at the hands of violent and cruel persecutors. What hope had they unless their faith in Christ steadied them and reassured them of His presence regardless of their fate?

So, Paul’s prayers were agonising over these beloved people, that they would stand and grow in the midst of adversity. Lip service would not survive. Only robust confidence in the Christ who lived in them would see them through to victory and full salvation.

What about us? In the most part, Satan’s tactics to destroy the church are far more subtle and dangerous than blatant opposition. He could only kill them once but he could undermine their faith in Jesus in many ways and many times.

For many decades, he has tried to obliterate the church through communism. His tactic not only failed, but it also contributed to the growth of a thriving church. For example, the church in China, driven underground by the Communist revolution, has emerged strong and vigourous, shaming the church in the West by its maturity compared with insipid and compromising Western Christianity.

Satan’s tactic, especially in the West, is to distract the church with irrelevant issues, and compromising beliefs and practices. The church has become cluttered with old and new traditions, interpretations, beliefs, and doctrines, cultural additions, you name it, until the simplicity of our life in Christ is no longer recognisable.

As long as we are preoccupied with programmes, conferences and seminars, workshops and training, functions and…and…and…we think we are are “doing the Lord’s work!” Really!

Paul made a sobering statement to the Corithinan church.

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 NLT
[10] “Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. [11] For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. [12] Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. [13] But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. [14] If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. [15] But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.”

Unless we, as the global church of the Lord Jesus, are building on the foundation of Jesus as Lord, using the precious building material of truth, and staying loyal to the simplicity of “Christ in you, the hope of glory”, we are in danger of losing the superstructure of our work, and our rewards, ending up with nothing but our own skin.

Paul agonised over those who had come to faith in Jesus, whoever and wherever they were. His goal? Only Christ in them! What of us? Are we content with compromise and mediocrity in our labour, or will we join him in agonising for those that come under our care?

Galatians 4:19 NLT
[19] “Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives.”