November 26, 2014
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

A Costly Mission

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Opening Prayer

Lord, I thank You for Jesus Christ. He is the doorway to You, through whom I experience Your love and life in abundance.

Read Colossians 1:24-2:5

For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.

[24] Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. [25] I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness- [26] the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. [27] To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. [28] He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. [29] To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me. [1] I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. [2] My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, [3] in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. [4] I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. [5] For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt. 6:33). Although we may be multi-tasking, we need to keep our priorities right.

I am often struck by the simplicity of Paul’s sense of mission. His view of life was uncluttered, his priorities totally clear. He spoke starkly to the Ephesians’ leaders: “I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to … complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me–the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace” (Acts 20:24). Today’s passage stresses that same sense of calling: irrespective of the personal costs, he must proclaim Christ.

First, the cost. It is stated in surprising and dramatic terms in verse 24. He “rejoices” in what he has suffered, not because of some distorted masochism but because of what that suffering has achieved for the Colossians. And he links it with Christ’s own sufferings, with the remarkable suggestion that he fills up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. The personal cost is highlighted again in the language of verse 29, as he struggles and strains to fulfill his calling to proclaim Christ, and contends energetically for them (2:1). Here is someone who truly lays aside his own interests, and even life itself, in order to present everyone mature in Christ.

Second, the mission. It is stated in various ways in this short passage, and demonstrates the richness of our calling too: to present the Word of God in its fullness; to proclaim to the Gentiles the mystery of Christ, the hope of glory; to proclaim Christ, admonishing and teaching with all wisdom; to provoke believers to enjoy the full riches of complete understanding; to know the mystery of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The calling for every Christian is the same: the privilege of confronting the costs in order to fulfill the mission.

Apply

How do you see your calling as a Christian? What is your mission?

Closing prayer

Mighty God, Paul stands as such a colossus before me. May his example of keeping his sense of call, and his devotion to fulfilling it, spur me on in obedience to You.

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