Read Colossians 3:16 NLT
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.
Yesterday we explored what the Church is supposed to be – an Ekklesia; a community or gathering of people introducing and implementing a culture of Jesus in the world. Today, let’s begin to explore why that is important and what that has to do with us.
I really like the idea in today’s verse that as the Church, a movement centered around what Jesus did for us, our lives are meant to be full and rich. Who doesn’t want that kind of life?! It goes on to explain how we experience that kind of life. We experience it through growth and praise in a collective setting.
Our lives in the Church are meant to be a gift to each other, teaching each other and helping each other seek and see God. That richness and fullness of life comes in part when we are able to share what God has taught us, so that others can know Him more clearly AND we receive that in return. The height of that full life comes when we are able to praise God together for all He has made, all He provides for us, for the people He has gathered together to be His literal hands and feet – God with a bit of skin on – here on earth, and for the gift of His love in the sacrifice of His Son. Our figurative cups should be continuously overflowing!
Here’s the deal – we can grow and praise God on our own. But only to a certain extent. These verses remind us that God wants more for us. More than we can think or imagine or acknowledge on our own. The fullness of the message of Christ isn’t about a single person, or even a single group of people. It is about all of us and it is meant to be shared and taught and celebrated together as His Church so that we can truly experience the fullness and the richness of His love.
