Serving the Lord Christ

…knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.

Colossians 3:24

We are all servants to someone or some group of people. Paul is addressing that in the larger context from which we take our text for today. He articulates the overarching concept in Verse 17, ‘And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.’ This reminds us of the possibility of engaging in common activities in a spiritual way. Much of our life involves the common, the mundane, and the routine. Our interactions with one another as ‘wives,’ ‘husbands,’ ‘children,’ ‘fathers,’ ‘servants,’ and ‘masters,’ all of which appear in the context, are the most common and routine of all. By the grace of God, we may engage in even the most mundane of activities with a spiritual frame of mind, and in a truly spiritual way. How is that so? It can be so because, ‘you serve the Lord Christ.’ This elevates the most common of our activities which we can do, ‘as unto the Lord, and not unto men.’ Elsewhere, Paul encourages us that, ‘Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.’ We often consider activities of the ‘lower order’ to be, perhaps too insignificant to have much spiritual value or import, yet Christ Himself did small things with great spirituality. He is the Great Pattern for our behavior. By contemplating Him, even in the most common and ordinary activities, we can engage in what we do being ever aware that we ‘serve the Lord Christ.’

Our Gracious Master and Our God,
we rejoice that we have the great privilege of serving You,
the High King of Heaven.
We rejoice that You sanctify our efforts,
by the power of Your Blood,
that we might render to You acceptable service.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Christ, All And In All

…where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

Colossians 3:11

Racial and cultural differences are not new, nor are the tensions that come with them. Sometimes these differences become the gateways to divisions, which may even degenerate into bloody conflicts. Achieving peace and unity is difficult, at the best of times, and seems impossible when cultures, races, and civilizations clash. The Apostle Paul addressed these differences in an astute, succinct manner in our text today. While what he offers is not comprehensive, it is glorious for the sheer simplicity of it. He offers Christ as the Great Unifier of humanity. He declares, ‘…where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.’ The simple answer for a cross-cultural, multiracial, non-homogeneous circumstance is the Person of Christ. Christ is Greater than our cultural and ethnic differences. The knowledge, experience and understanding which arises out of communion with Christ enables us to reach across divides to achieve a spirit of love, unity, and grace that overcomes what would otherwise deeply divide us in suspicion and mistrust. For those who embrace Him, as the Gospel freely offers Him to us, Christ brings to us an organic unity, that makes us one Body in Him. He then is ‘all and in all.’ As we contemplate these things today, let us dwell upon Our Unifying Christ. He brings together as no one else does. He unifies what would otherwise be forever divided. He, known aright, ‘is all and in all.’

Our Glorious Living Christ,
We rejoice that You build Your Church,
from bricks of every stripe and variety.
We praise You, that Your request will come to pass,
that we all may be one,
as You are One with Your Father.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning