So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7 NIV
For those of us who know Christ, we have a beginning of our journey with Him. A point where we recognized our need for Him, salvation, freedom from sin and forgiveness. We received His goodness, forgiveness and so much more.
But, as Paul writes to the Colossians, we need to continue in this life, this journey, this walk. It does not stop the moment we accept the free gift of salvation. As the writer of Hebrews so aptly points out – we are running a race.
This race is the length of our life. It may be 5 kilometers for some, a half marathon for others, or the full marathon for more. We do not know the length of our days, but we do know we are in a race and we are to run with endurance, with focus and purpose and with our eyes fixed on the prize.
We are to continue running – even when it gets tough. Especially when it gets tough, because it will be, if it is not now. Running a marathon has its ups and downs, its turns, uneven surfaces and unknown course up ahead.
But, since God is the One who marked out our path, we can be sure He knows every little inch, every little circumstance, everything. Nothing escapes Him.
We can move forward because He is in our future. He is in the tomorrows, the sleepless nights, the hospital rooms, the jail cell, the lonely moments of our lives.
Paul writes it so beautifully (in Colossians 2, above) with his analogy of a plant – being rooted in Jesus. Roots grow and will grow deep with proper care. Yes, there are weeds with stubborn roots, but the environment where they grow is the same environment where we are planted. What’s the difference? Perseverance. Weeds get plucked out, but proper plants grow and flourish. Weeds get poisoned, chopped, hacked and neglected. Plants get nourishment, care from the gardener, staked if necessary and loving attention.
The thing to watch out for is choking. Yes, being choked out by the weeds. By the cares of this world, the ‘squirrels’ which are running to and fro in our lives. We all have different weeds around us – its part of the gardening process. Just ask any gardener his nemesis and he will usually point to: weeds, pests, disease.
Sounds a lot like our life.
Let us continue to be rooted and strengthened in the faith. Jesus is the Author of our faith – let us let Him continue to write it out for us. Let us not get in the way with our stuff, out pride, our desires and our self. The LORD is our Strength (Nehemiah 8:10), so let us let Him be the strong one. Let us lean on Him, allowing Him to fight our battles, take the hits and be in front. Let us stay behind Him.
The strongman is just that – strong. We are weak but with Christ we are powerful because He is in fact our Strength. We can only be conquerors in Christ. Only. There is no other way.
As we continue living in Christ, we have the opportunity (or multiple opportunities) to chose to live for Christ and in Him. The parade is passing by with the choice given to us as to whether we want to jump in or not. We can be a spectator or a participant. We can hesitate or fully engage.
Aren’t you glad we can chose to join in and continue our faith journey with Jesus?
PRAYER
Thank You father for growing us - for keeping us deeply rooted in Your Son. Help us Lord to fix our eyes on Jesus so we do not lose our way nor get distracted along the way. You are amazing and we desire to give You our full attention. In the Name of Your Son, Jesus. Amen.
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