Walk In, Rooted In, Built Up
For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
Colossians 2:5–8 ESV Read More
When Paul was away from the church in Colosae, he was still working towards the same goals and connected to the same Lord. The Holy Spirit has a way of helping us in unity as we seek Him, even when we aren’t together. Sometimes this comes in the form of several pastors in a city preaching on the same topics, or other times we hear the same Bible verse from 5 different sources. The Holy Spirit is connected even when we don’t see connections.
This helps us to be encouraged by other people’s faith and it inspires us to be faithful to what is entrusted to us. As I grow in the strength of my faith in Christ, it benefits believers from Uganda to Burma to Cincinnati. As you walk in Christ, letting your daily decisions and actions be influenced and guided by Him, it establishes the Kingdom of Heaven wherever you go. This maturity deepens our lives and deepens our faith which gives us God’s perspective on the world. Thanksgiving towards God flows out of that.
If we grow in the certainty of God’s provision, we don’t fear disaster. We answer disasters with thanksgiving. If we grow in the confidence that Jesus walks with us through pain and suffering, we don’t worship the idol of comfort and we praise Him for His care. As our faith increases, we are less often distracted by silly teachings or controversies. Every year at Easter, Time or Newsweek runs a cover story about Jesus like “Did Jesus have children?” or “Was Mary Magdalen Jesus’ sister?” etc. We don’t give those much notice because we are focusing on Easter!
As we pursue Christ and His truth, we don’t need to become experts in the false teachings to avoid. If you know how to bake perfect chocolate chip cookies, you don’t have to learn all of the ways to mess them up. Walk in Christ. Be rooted and built up in Him, His teachings, and His life that now lives in you. These things will keep us far away from drowning in traditions and rules. These are the things that build the Kingdom of God.
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