For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. 6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.1
Faith can be a fleeting thing. One day it may feel like you have an abundance, the next day you wonder where it went. Some days faith feels as strong as iron, other days you doubt if your faith could carry two handfuls of feathers. Reading the gospel accounts you find Jesus questioning people as to why their faith isn’t greater, then saying that faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains. Perhaps the most honest statement of faith was made by a father who brought his possessed son to be healed by Jesus’ disciples. Feeling pressed to express faith in Jesus’ ability, the father said, “I do believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).
Of one thing we can be certain: very few Christians have aspired to have weak faith. That is just not how it works. We want our faith to be strong, able to persevere through challenging circumstances, a model for generations of believers who will follow in our steps. We want it, and the apostle Paul wanted it for the Christians in Colossae, Laodicea, and every other place there were believers dear to his heart. Paul so wanted that kind of faith for them that he prayed, traveled, taught, challenged, and anything else necessary to make it happen.
Reading through these brief verses we can see some of the features of that strong faith. It knits together in love the hearts of believers, filling them with full assurance in Christ and the knowledge of God’s will. It is a faith lined with strong armor to protect against persuasive but misleading doctrines (more on that in the next post). Such a faith grounds Christians in an orderly common life, the kind of community that glorifies Jesus. Paul has heard about the Kingdom work within the church at Colossae, and he encourages them to continue strengthening the faith through which it is happening.
Many of us who grew up in church life can remember the “Pauls” who labored for us. They may have been Sunday school teachers, youth pastors, or any faithful saint who went out of their way to teach and encourage us. We may not have appreciated it back then, or really even noticed. Looking back, though, we see their fingerprints all over the redeemed image of Christ in us. Thanks be to God for those who were willing to struggle greatly so we could mature in our faith.
- Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ↩︎
The Winding Path 