I know you hear so much of the noise going on in the world around you. You hear the marketplace wanting your time at work. You hear relationships begging to be poured into. You hear the cancel culture. You hear advertising battling for your last dollar. You hear the government prodding and poking you. So many things are telling you they are the hope for your future. But we all know, Jesus is the only hope we can count on.
In Colossians 2, Paul is reminding us, as Jesus-followers, there are some things we can do to stay focused, to stay ready, to stay anchored. He tells us in his fatherly voice, “I don’t want you to be deceived…” Paul is telling us that there are a lot of voices who will tell you they know what’s best, they know the best answer…just listen to them. But Paul wants to remind us how we stay grounded in the avalanche of information we currently experience in our culture.
Take look at Colossians 2:6-7. Paul is telling us how we can overcome the pressure to follow other voices.
Paul calls us into a real relationship with Jesus. You remember the first time you met your best friend? You may have hit it off right away but it wasn’t a real relationship yet. Those take years to develop. You must experience highs and lows together. You have to journey a while together. You build trust and faith in each other over time. Paul is saying, that’s how it is with Jesus. You must make a decision to live a lifetime with Jesus and develop the real relationship. As you journey, the trust you put in Jesus will prove that He is the only one in which you can hope.
Paul also wants us to think about agriculture and construction. “Let your roots grow down into Jesus…and build your life on him.” Paul is reminding us again, it takes time to gain what you hope for. There is a process to building a house and planting 40 acres. It will take months before either come to fruition. So it is with Jesus. And as Kingdom people, Paul is admonishing us to embrace the process.
In the church at Colossae, they had settled for a transactional moment. Paul calls us to live a transformational life. There is no doubt, each of us have a transaction with Jesus. We give him our past mistakes and he gives us grace, mercy, and forgiveness. But after that moment, our lives are continually transformed into one that looks more and more like Jesus’ life. Transformation is a process. It doesn’t happen overnight.
The church at Colossae had also settled for Jesus as an accessory. Paul calls us to make Jesus a priority. Jesus can’t just be part of your life. Jesus must BE your life. So many of us mistakenly listen to the cultural voices around us and choose it as our savior. We move the cross over and take our career and building wealth as the savior. Or we take our relationships with our kids or our marriage as the thing that will make us right. Or we allow our fear and anxiety take over our life. Or we believe a new president will be the answer and savior. But there is only one savior and his name is Jesus.
So Paul reminds us to focus on Jesus. Grow your roots down deeply into the Son of God. Build your life on the foundation of the King of kings. It’s then you will find everything you hoped for in this life and the next. Blessings on your journey.