Every effort, every hobby, and every occupation or profession can be something we submit to the Lord's direction and seek to use for His glory. In God's economy, I don't believe there is work that is secular and work that is sacred. It's all sacred when it's done for His honor.
The other day, our mailman stopped by the house to deliver our mail. I happen to know him rather well, and I appreciate the joyful manner in which he does his work. He's someone who loves Christ and seeks to be an ambassador of the joy he has in Christ wherever he delivers. In fact, as he pulled away, he stopped his truck to double-check that he had the dates right for the next Men's Bible Study in our church.
Each of us has been given a set number of days on this earth. We've been given unique personalities, wisdom, strength, relationships, and opportunities. I believe the Lord wants us to capitalize on the unique set of resources and abilities He's blessed us with. We have a life's work that we've been sent into this world to accomplish. It may be expressed through our vocation or it may be expressed in a way that has nothing to do with how we earn a living.
Paul was highly aware of the work the Lord had entrusted to him. He knew that he was equipped to teach, train, and go where others were often unwilling to go. Paul was willing to stick his neck out in ways that many people commonly shy away from, and the risks he took often included pain.
Paul's work gives us a glimpse of what it looks like when we take the risk to do what Jesus calls us to do, where and when He calls us to do it. When I look at a passage like Colossians 1:24-29, there are a few questions that I feel led to ask regarding the work Christ has entrusted to me. Maybe they'll be helpful questions to ask yourself as well.
I. Do you rejoice or complain in your seasons of suffering?
““Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,” ”
Suffering isn't pleasant. It's something I think we instinctively try to minimize in our lives and in the lives of others. At present our church is collecting food for those who struggle with poverty and hunger. We're also collecting clothing to meet the needs of those who lack it. I think there's value in doing so.
But some forms of suffering have a deeper-level purpose, and God may not immediately choose to relieve us of them. In fact, I'm convinced that during the course of my life, I have grown more through my seasons of suffering than I have through my seasons of ease. So if I could start looking at my sufferings from God's redemptive perspective, it would be wise for me to rejoice in those seasons instead of complaining.
Paul's choice to be obedient to Christ's commission to spread the gospel resulted in suffering in his life. His letter to the Colossians was written from a place of confinement as he was under house arrest. He also experienced seasons of physical exhaustion, hunger, threats of violence, and physical peril because of his desire to minister to the church in Christ's name. Yet in doing so, he was given great opportunity to make the word of God fully known where people lacked understanding of it.
So instead of complaining about the suffering he endured, Paul rejoiced. He described his suffering as, "filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church," (Col. 1:24). In making this statement, Paul wasn't trying to imply that Christ lacks anything or that the work Christ accomplished on our behalf was somehow incomplete or insufficient.
Paul was describing a facet of our union with Christ. We are united to Christ through faith, and we are now referred to as the body of Christ on earth. The suffering Paul shared wasn't his suffering alone. It is a continuation of the suffering of Christ that is experienced by the church. It is suffering that Jesus endured with Paul, just as He is present with us in our sufferings. It was a form of suffering Paul lived through on behalf of the church that the Lord foreordained to be completed for the greater good of His people.
When I read through a passage like this, and I consider what Jesus endured on our behalf to secure our salvation, and what Paul endured to serve the church and share the gospel, I'm reminded of the kind of attitude the Lord wants us to have toward our seasons of suffering. This is a reminder to me that He brings good things out of that pain, and to complain might mean we're effectively grumbling against the sovereign plan of God. But since our joy isn't dependent on our circumstances, let's ask the Lord for the grace to learn to rejoice even when He allows us to experience prolonged discomfort.
II. Do you ever thank God for what He has revealed to this generation?
““the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” ”
Recently, I was looking at very old pictures of schoolhouses from many years ago. I don't know what your school was like, but I'm confident it was most likely nicer than what I was looking at. Because we live when we live, we've been blessed to live during an era of rapidly expanding innovation. Those innovations have improved community development, construction, indoor climate control, and sanitation. Because of that, it's hard for us to imagine what it would have been like to go to a school without plumbing or running water. It's hard for us to imagine taking turns showing up to school early to prepare the coal stove and heat the building. There are very clear benefits to being born when we were born.
From a spiritual standpoint, I have often thought about how grateful I am to be living during this era of history. We live after the earthly ministry of Jesus. We live after His crucifixion and resurrection. During this season of history, we have the completed canon of Scripture. We also experience the benefit of being indwelled by the Holy Spirit the moment we come to faith in Jesus. He guides us, transforms our minds, and helps us recall the teachings of Christ. He comforts us, counsels us, and makes the Word of God understandable to us when we read it or hear it proclaimed.
Living in this era of history also comes with an additional benefit. There are things we know about that previous generations of believers were unaware of. Paul uses the word "mystery" when he speaks of these things. In theological terms, a mystery is information that was hidden in a previous era that is revealed later on. What is the mystery Paul is speaking of in this passage? What do we know and what do we get to experience that believers during the Old Testament era were unaware of?
The mystery Paul speaks of here relates to the ways the Lord has chosen to bless the Gentile nations. When reading through the Old Testament, it's obvious that God chose to do a wonderful work through the Jewish people. He raised up prophets through them. He made them a nation and gave them a land of their own. He promised them an eternal inheritance in His kingdom, and He sent His Son as their Messiah and Redeemer. He even promised that the day was coming when the Gentiles would also come to faith in Him.
The mystery, however, that wasn't known during the Old Testament era was that Gentiles and Jews would be united into one body through faith in Jesus Christ. And as one body, we share in a common inheritance in God's kingdom. We share in one hope. We share an equal footing, and that's all been secured through Jesus who tore down the wall that divided both groups when He gave His life on behalf of all of us on the cross.
I'm grateful to experience that and to know that to be true. And as I look at it again, I'm reminded to give thanks to God for what He has graciously made known to us in this generation. It has a major impact on our perspective, quality of life, vision, and hope.
III. Who are you warning and who are you teaching?
““Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.””
A few weeks ago, I was driving my car about a mile away from our church building. I was on a wooded street, and a car that was driving in the opposite direction started flashing his lights at me. Most of us realize that's a universal signal meant to tell us that something is wrong. I started running through the options in my mind. Were my high beams on? Was there an accident up ahead? Was he warning me to watch my speed? It turns out he was trying to tell me that deer were crossing the road up ahead. I appreciated his word of caution and the fact that he put me on alert to a potential problem.
Frequently in life, we will be given opportunities to communicate important messages to others. Sometimes we will share a message of warning. Other times we'll teach a message of wisdom. But here's what makes that complicated. Many of the people you attempt to warn or pass along your wisdom to will ignore what you have to say. If you're a leader, parent, or friend, this is likely to become a source of frustration, but make the attempt anyway, even if it seems like no one is listening.
Paul wanted the young church of his era to grow mature in their walk with Christ, so he took the risk to warn them about the things that could threaten the growth of their faith. He also made great efforts to teach them the Word of God. In fact, it was to this end that he said he toiled with all the energy God had given him.
I'm in a special season of life. There are people in my family who are older than me, yet they seek my counsel. There are also people in my family who are younger that do the same. Not long ago, an older relative asked for my advice. I gave it, and he ignored it. That was followed by a younger member of my family asking for my advice as well. He will also probably ignore it. It would be comical if it wasn't so sad.
But if the Holy Spirit lives within you, and your mind is saturated with the Word of God, keep warning and keep teaching. You will frequently end up telling people things that they don't want to hear, but speak up anyway. They may ignore your counsel in the moment, but then circle back to your advice at a later season of life.
I know of a man who got saved as an adult when he started thinking about the Bible teaching he received as a child. He had a long commute that gave him ample time to think, and some of the verses he was taught as a child came back to mind many years after they were first communicated to him. He came to faith in Christ, got involved in a local church, taught his family about Jesus, and when his children became adults, one became a missionary and the other became a professor at a Bible college.
Where has the Lord called you to serve? Are you committed to using your life's work to bring Christ glory? You may suffer to do so, and people may not immediately listen to your counsel, but you've been given unique opportunities and additional revelation that wasn't available to the generations that came before you. Make the most of it, and watch what the Lord will do through you.
© John Stange, 2022
