Colossians 1:9 That is why we keep on talking to God about you since the day we heard about you. We ask him that you may know everything he wants you to do. We ask him that you may be very wise and that the Spirit will help you to understand.
10 We ask him that you will live the way the Lord wants you to live, so that you will please him in everything you do. We ask that you will do everything that is good. We ask that you will see the fruit from what you do. We ask that you will know more and more about God.11 God has wonderful power. And we ask him to give you all the strength you need to go through all your troubles, to be very patient in them, and to be happy.
12 Thank the Father who has made us ready to be with the people of God who live in his light.
| Day 12—Now we are ready to take strides toward exhibiting God’s Kingdom. |
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The words that follow from Paul exhort us further toward the kind of living that helps others see what being in God’s Kingdom is like. Let us continue on with Colossians 3:15-17—
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts (let it preside there, let it prevail and govern as an umpire in your midst, because the Kingdom of God means the prevalence of peace), to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the Word of Christ (let the logos of which Christ Jesus is the embodiment) dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs (putting into the minds of one another the counsel and instruction that comes through the Psalms, hymns and songs born of the Holy Spirit), singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.
What a powerful passage! Take note of the imperatives. Let the peace of God rule. Be thankful. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. Do whatever you do in the Name of the Lord Jesus. These words are so rich they deserve our holding them in our hearts till they have grown there and have become part of the very beings we are.
Of all the rich words Paul has placed in the Colossians 3 passage at which we are looking today, there are none so rich as the admonition that we let the Word of Christ dwell in us. From the Greek, we observe the words more exactly to mean: “Let the logos of the Christ live in you as His dwelling place.” This means a movement of our beings toward knowing the intimacy of the indwelling Christ. It means that He takes His being in us, living in us, and making Himself known through us.
How does this happen? Paul says let it happen.
FATHER, blessed FATHER GOD, I know now it is only by Your grace, and by Your work. It is by what Paul has presented to our hearts today. I believe it can actually happen. Give us—these in our fellowship, in our family, in our circle of friends, in these people who seek to govern our nations—oh, give us each and all the enabling grace that will bring these qualities of Your Kingdom forth in us.
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