Seeds for 1/9/2023 - Colossians 1:9b

Scripture: “We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.” [This sentence is rather long, so we’ll give it more than one day.]

Observation: Paul and Timothy (and maybe others) are praying for the Colossian Christians as the letter begins. The prayer is for knowledge of God’s will. Who doesn’t want that, right? Paul's prayer indicates a way we get it and a reason we get it. Let’s talk about the way today and look at the reason tomorrow.

The way we get knowledge of God’s will is “through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives.” It’s a gift. Even the wisdom and understanding needed to know God’s will is a gift from Him. It’s not that we are to be passive do-nothings. Dallas Willard once said that grace is not opposed to effort, it’s opposed to earning. It’s a different sort of effort—like hoisting sails is different from rowing. Both are hard work, but rowing is fully dependent on one’s own power while hoisting sails makes progress by putting forth effort in order to receive the benefits of a power greater than oneself. It’s work because humility, patience, listening, and the like take real effort to do consistently and well.

The more we reinforce in ourselves that the Christian life is a gift we receive rather than a resume we achieve, the more we’ll work at hoisting the sails of our souls to receive the Spirit’s gifts of wisdom and understanding.

Application: What room do I leave in my praying for listening? What attitude/s might promote patience about gaining knowledge of God’s will?

Prayer: Lord, lead me into habits of heart that promote humility, patience, and listening. Teach me to receive your grace that matures me in Christ. Amen.

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“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)

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