What Are We Struggling For?
For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.
Colossians 2:1–4 ESV Read More
There are ways to know how miserable someone is. It depends on the person of course. You can know how miserable some people are from 729 miles away with just one check of Twitter. You can ignore the possibility of someone being miserable by near asking, never slowing down to notice. You can never know how truly miserable some people are because they complain so much that you’ve stopped listening!
All of this puts Paul in a tricky spot because he really wants the Colossians to know how much he is struggling, but he doesn’t want it to be a complaint or a selfish dirge. A mom or dad has the same conflict when they love their kids and they want their kids to appreciate their sacrifices but at the same time not tear them down with guilt! The point that wins, of course, is love.
It is out of love that Paul is struggling and out of love that he wants them to know how hard he is working for them to achieve spiritual maturity. He wants the church in Colossae to know that somebody is working hard towards their unity and depth of knowledge. If you know the teacher is working hard then you, as the student, might work hard too. When Paul tells the church about the things that he is taking seriously, they might take them seriously too.
Look at his list of what his goal is:
That their hearts would be encouraged
That they would be knitted together in love
That they would have full assurance of understanding (this means not doubting things)
That they wouldn’t be deluded by arguments
This is a list worthy of our struggle. Let us look around at the people we influence and the people we have the opportunity to influence. Guests on Sunday, Middle Schoolers and High Schoolers playing dodgeball, neighbors and co-workers are all waiting for us to struggle to help them grow in this list. Nobody struggles to watch Netflix or struggles to fall down a Facebook hole.
I want you to know how great a struggle it was for people to get us this far in the faith. I want to you know how great a struggle it was for the church to grow as big as it has. I say this so that no one will delude you with plausible offers of laziness. Let us struggle to encourage and love and build up the church while we have the chance.
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