Both my Sunday morning class and my Sunday evening small group are in the process of reading Paul's Letter to the Colossians. I especially love the opening greeting. "To the holy and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ at Colosse: Grace and Peace to you from God our Father."When I first said, "Wouldn't it be cool if the Apostle Paul walked in here and said, Good morning, holy and faithful friends," there was a general murmur of dissent. More than one of of my Sunday morning group said there was no way they could be accurately described as holy.
I appreciate the humility, but fact is most of us misunderstand the meaning of the word holy. Holy simply means to "set apart" for something special. So, this week, I asked for some examples of how my friends had responded to the imperative to be holy... to walk in the fact of their holiness... to act and interact proactively in a faithful response... to live as if being holy was a fait accompli....
They shared some remarkable stories. So this week, for "homework", I have asked everyone to keep the image of "holy and faithful" front and center in their consciousness. Because there is a lot of power in proactive belief. Seeing ourselves - positively - as people both commissioned and equipped to be holy and faithful will likely produce observable results.
And it doesn't matter what we're up to, who we're with, and what circumstances are at play. Our mission is still the same, simple and clear cut. Live in the truth of our salvation. We have been commissioned to participate in "Kingdom Life". Kingdom living necessarily involves walking in the light as children of the light.
It's Monday morning, holy and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and Peace to you from God our Father.
- DEREK
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