TVCC Students,
We are honored to continue meeting every Wednesday evening for fellowship, worship, and the studying of God's Word. It encourages us so much to see you all walking in truth and in genuine fellowship with one another. Last night we took our previous weeks message and learned how the Lord wanted those truths to work themselves out in our daily lives. Here is a recap...
Colossians 3:18-25
~3:12-17: Before anyone can read and meditate on the next section on "what" our lives should look like... we must do a refresher course on "how" and "why" we are to live this way. When Christians just attach a bunch of rules to one another without any explanation, the church gets exasperated and often gives up. It is crucial that we continually remember who we are and what that means for us. Believers are "chosen" of God... we are "holy and beloved" because of Christ and His work on the Cross. Because of Jesus, we have been given the Spirit of the Lord to overcome our flesh and grow into the image of Christ. As we let His Word dwell in us and let His Spirit lead us, we will be continually transformed... our old self will become less prevalent and we will look more like King Jesus- walking in selfless love for others and devotion to the will of the Father. We will be unable to keep a list of rules by sheer willpower. We must continually remind ourselves of these truths as we recognize that Jesus gives us the power to change and please the Father.
Q: Have you been trusting in your own willpower to have "Christ-like" character or are you continually embracing your own shortcomings and realizing your need for the Spirit and the Word to continue to transform your life?
~3:18: Once we embrace all of the above truths, we can take a look at the lives that bring glory to the Lord. Paul goes from a general attitude that pleases the Lord in verses (3:12-13) to more specific things in verses 18-25. The first relationship he addresses is wives. Wives are called to be submissive to their OWN husbands. This does not mean that women are less valuable or even less capable (Ephesians 5:21-25) than men but just that the Lord has given them a role to fulfill within the family. When a woman joyfully trusts the Lord to lead her husband and she honors him through submitting, the Lord is glorified! This is a representation of how the church should be submitting to Christ. The husband is to lead the family and the wife is called to submit to him and thus please the Lord in this way. Wives are not called to submit to every man but to their own husband. This implies that who we marry is a huge deal!! Also, submission is not based on the character of the man. Paul is letting women know that submitting to their husband is what the Lord wants. Even when their husband might not deserve it, it glorifies the Lord for wives to be subject to their husbands.
Q: Ladies- does this call of the Lord for women to be submissive to their husbands make you think a little more intensely about the kind of man that you will one day marry?
~3:19: After Paul gets done addressing the ladies, he speaks to the men. Husbands are to love their own wives and not be embittered against them. In Ephesians 5, we also see that a husband's love for his wife is to demonstrate the love that Christ had for His bride when He gave up His life for her. A husband is called by the Lord to have a selfless and sacrificial love for His wife that does not hold grudges or lash out. Regardless of how he is treated, a husband is to demonstrate the love of Christ to His wife. Men represent the Lord well when they love their wives with the love of Christ. We must all realize that others will fail us and our love for them should not be dependent on how well they measure up to our standards. We need to live lives of grace and mercy towards others.
Q: Men- does this call of the Lord for you to love your wives sacrificially make you think more intensely about the kind of woman that you will one day marry?
~3:20: After talking with husbands and wives, Paul addresses children and their relationship to their parents. If we take a look at Romans 1:29 we see that part of the Lord giving man over to sin is when children live in disobedience to their parents. Our fleshly nature wants us to rebel against the authorities the Lord has placed over to us- especially children to their parents. It pleases the Lord and makes Him look great when children obey their parents in all things- especially when they don't "deserve" it. Just as with husbands and wives, the call of God is not a conditional one. He does not say... "children obey your parents WHEN they are godly and making right decisions" ... Parents are going to mess up and it pleases the Lord when children obey their parents. This pleases Him. If a parent is walking in continual disobedience to Lord, there are biblical steps that a child can take (Matthew 18) but this still needs to be done with honor and respect.
Q: Students- how are you doing at obeying your parents? Would you say that your relationship with your parents brings the Lord glory or dishonor? What steps can you take to strengthen your relationship with your parents?
~3:21: Paul moves on to the roll of father. He calls fathers not to exasperate their children. This will look different for every father/child relationship. What exasperates one child will not affect the other at all. Fathers must be continually seeking the Lord in order to gain wisdom in how to lead his wife and children in a way that pleases the Lord.
Q: Students- how often are you praying for your father? Being a father and husband is a huge role that requires so much diligence and wisdom. Are you praying for your dad often- that he would be seeking the Lord as he leads your family?
~3:22: Though we do not have the role of slave/master in our culture... we do have the role of boss/employee. It honors God when we obey our bosses and seek to please the Lord through working hard at all times. We should not just be working hard when people are watching but at all times as this pleases the Lord.
~3:23-25: These few verse go into more detail about how we are to live in all situations. In every relationship and in every job (whether one is a student, parent, boss, employee, child, friend, etc)- this is the goal: remember that we are the Lord's representatives and He is the one that ultimately rewards the good works of His children. Our salvation is a free gift from Him but there are rewards that He gives to His children that walk obediently to Him.
Q: Do you realize that your life is continually on display and you can either bring glory or shame to the Lord by the way that you live? What changes do you feel the Lord calling you to make so that you can better represent Him... not out of fear but because of the gratitude and love you have for Him and His magnificent love for you displayed on the Cross and through the whole redemption process?
Dear Students,
We are so thankful to be able to walk alongside of you guys in our striving to glorify Jesus. We know that we all fail on a daily basis to love Him and please Him. Thankfully His love for us is not conditional. He loves us unconditionally and we are seen as His "holy and beloved" children because of the righteousness that was given to us through the death and resurrection of Christ on our behalf. Thank Jesus for second, third, fourth chances! Let us repent this week of our failures to represent Him well and seek to be led by His Spirit this next week as we are His ambassadors to the world around us. We love you all and are praying for you!
With hope,
~Sonny and Casi
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