We are Still Bearing Fruit

Scripture

Colossians 1:3-13
³ In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴ for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, ⁵ because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel ⁶ that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God. ⁷ This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant.  He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, ⁸ and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. ¹¹ May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. ¹³ He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Devotion

The passage above is the opening of Paul's Letter to the Colossians.  Paul had never been to the small town of Colossae, but his student Epaphras had told him all about the new Christian community there.  According to Epaphras, the members of the fledgling congregation were acting in ways that showed true love for Christ and one another.  What's more, that love was beginning to bear fruit in Colossae and its surrounding region.

Paul's opens his letter by praying for the Holy Spirit continue to fill the Church in Colossae  and that the people there will keep living in ways that are pleasing to God and bearing good fruit.  This prayer is interesting, because the Colossians had not had faced any real hardships yet.  Paul knows, though, this will not always be the case.  Sooner or later, they will endure danger, disappointment, and persecution. When that day comes, people will find it hard to keep living as Christ taught and bearing fruit worthy of the LORD.  And yet, it is when things are difficult that the wisdom and knowledge of God will be needed more than ever.  If the Colossians can continue bearing fruit in times of hardship, then the people in their area will see the true power of Christ.  That is when this fledgling church will show its true colors.

Paul's prayer for Church in Colossae rings down through the ages. 21st American Christians have our standard share of difficulties, but they are generally nothing in comparison to what was faced by our fore-bearers.  Now, we have entered a time of increased hardship.   When we feel anxious, sad, or discouraged, it can be difficult to keep sight of the Good News of the Gospel.  It's even harder to keep bearing good fruit.  And yet, as Paul reminds us, it is at times like this when we need to let the true colors of Christ shine through us.

I am deeply blessed to help guide a church full of people whose true colors are shining through this time of trouble.  I a constantly receiving word of ways in which folks have born good fruit by providing encouragement of comfort to others in our community.  People are checking in on each other.  In a time when other locations are closed, our Fellowship Hall hosted a blood drive.  Our church's Mission Committee is preparing to address people's need for utility assistance when things begin to return to normal.  This week alone, I have personally seen FPC's and the town of Wadesboro's true colors in a cup of coffee an anonymous person bought for me, a flower arrangement I was given, multiple phone calls and Zoom meeting on how to reopen our doors when the time is right, and good news about grants to help us with our various ministries.   Most touching of all have been the prayers people have offered up on behalf of me and my family when we received some troubling news.  The true colors that Christ placed within you are shining through you and bearing fruit in the lives of everyone you touch.  Those colors are beautiful.

Paul's prayers for the Church in Colossae turned out to be much needed.  ARound 61 AD, an earthquake devastated the region, and the entire city had to be rebuilt without any help from Rome. A few years later, Philemon,  Apphia, Archippus, and Onesimus were martyred in the rebuilt town as part of Nero's persecution of Christians.  Even after having  seen the entire city destroyed, and 4 heroes of the early Church brutally executed, the Colossians did not lose sight of the Gospel.  Christ continued to shine in their lives, and they continued to bear good fruit in their community...so much so that they eventually built one of the largest churches in the Middle East.  

Today, a single column is all that remains of the physical Church in Colossae remains.  The witness of its members, though, remains.  Their faith lives in us, and versions of Paul's prayer for them are uttered by Christians around the world as we support one another.  May Paul's letter to the Colossians continue to inspire us as it did them.  May we it inspire us to keep reflecting Christ within us and leading lives worthy of him.  When we do so, the fruit bear in Christ's name will be beautiful like the rainbow. 

Prayer

Holy Spirit, we pray that you continue to fill the hearts of Christians around the world  Give your church the vision, compassion and perseverance to keep bearing good fruit in times of trial.  We trust that with your help, the love of Christ continue to shine through us.  Amen.