Walking Worthy of the Lord
In Colossians, Paul prays for the Christians that they, "would walk worthy of the Lord, being fruitful in every good work ." The fact that he prayed this prayer tells me that it is not an automatic fact that all Christians walk - conduct their lives - in a manner that is worthy of the Lord. If it was automatic, Paul would have had no need to pray for it to be worked out in the lives of the Colossians.
I am concerned that so many churches today teach the people to strive after prosperity, yet that is never the focus of any of the letters to the Churches. As a matter of fact, in the book of Revelation, the Church of Laodicea is reprimanded by the Lord for feeling that they had really arrived because they had accomplished a level of financial success. Walking worthy of the Lord has nothing to do with how much money you make. Laodicea was a wealthy town. The people there raised sheep that had black wool, which was very popular and was sold in many of the surrounding countries. It was the latest greatest fad. And the Laodiceans benefited from it financially. Also in Laodicea was a medical center that was well known for an eye salve they made. It is striking that the Lord rebuked them in direct correlation to these circumstances. He told them the were poor and naked. The expensive black wool did not impress God. He told them to buy white robes from Him. He told them they were blind. Their special eye salve would not be sufficient to take away spiritual blindness.
So, what is it then, to be rich towards God?
Does it seem like God is never satisfied and is always picking on our faults?
God knows that eternity is forever, and this life is very short. He knows that the things of this world can easily turn our hearts away from Him and draw us away from Him - yet they can also never truly satisfy our needs and fulfill us as human beings. If we have all the finances we need, yet lack love, we are poor indeed. If we stop following after Him, and are no longer in the process of being made into His image, our growth becomes stunted. We cannot rid ourselves of our bad habits. We lose sight of the hope of the glory and eternal life that is ours in Him.
Paul wrote to Timothy about what true riches are:
"As for those who do have riches in this present world, charge them not to be proud and not to let their hopes rest on the uncertainties of riches but to rest their hopes on God, who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment. Charge them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, to be generous and ready to share. In this way they will treasure up for themselves a good foundation for the future, so that they may lay hold of the real life."
I Tim. 6:17-19
I am concerned that so many churches today teach the people to strive after prosperity, yet that is never the focus of any of the letters to the Churches. As a matter of fact, in the book of Revelation, the Church of Laodicea is reprimanded by the Lord for feeling that they had really arrived because they had accomplished a level of financial success. Walking worthy of the Lord has nothing to do with how much money you make. Laodicea was a wealthy town. The people there raised sheep that had black wool, which was very popular and was sold in many of the surrounding countries. It was the latest greatest fad. And the Laodiceans benefited from it financially. Also in Laodicea was a medical center that was well known for an eye salve they made. It is striking that the Lord rebuked them in direct correlation to these circumstances. He told them the were poor and naked. The expensive black wool did not impress God. He told them to buy white robes from Him. He told them they were blind. Their special eye salve would not be sufficient to take away spiritual blindness.
So, what is it then, to be rich towards God?
Does it seem like God is never satisfied and is always picking on our faults?
God knows that eternity is forever, and this life is very short. He knows that the things of this world can easily turn our hearts away from Him and draw us away from Him - yet they can also never truly satisfy our needs and fulfill us as human beings. If we have all the finances we need, yet lack love, we are poor indeed. If we stop following after Him, and are no longer in the process of being made into His image, our growth becomes stunted. We cannot rid ourselves of our bad habits. We lose sight of the hope of the glory and eternal life that is ours in Him.
Paul wrote to Timothy about what true riches are:
"As for those who do have riches in this present world, charge them not to be proud and not to let their hopes rest on the uncertainties of riches but to rest their hopes on God, who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment. Charge them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, to be generous and ready to share. In this way they will treasure up for themselves a good foundation for the future, so that they may lay hold of the real life."
I Tim. 6:17-19
posted by Laurie T at
6:34 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home