Seeds for 2/8/2023 - Colossians 2:2b-3
Scripture: “My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
Observation: It all circles back to Christ.
Paul’s goal is to see everyone—Colossians, Laodiceans, people he’s met, people he hasn’t—“encouraged in heart and united in love,” which is key to having the “full riches of complete understanding.” Understanding relies on the virtues of the heart not simply the intelligence of the mind. Who encourages our hearts and unites us in love but Christ?
So, what is this “full riches of complete understanding” for? What purpose does it serve? Paul says that it is “in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” We need Christ to work in our hearts and unite us in love so we can have rich understanding. And we need that capacity for rich, complete understanding in order to know Christ.
If this seems circular, maybe that’s because it is. One of the images I have for Christian maturity is a circular staircase. It seems as though I come back around to many lessons over and over again. Each time I wonder if I’m starting back at square one. Yet each time there’s something new, an added dimension, a deeper connection, greater child-like wonder and delight at “the mystery of God, namely, Christ.” Discovering the deep wisdom of God in Christ is a treasure. Hopefully I’m making progress in the Christian life; not horizontally, but vertically, ever deeper into Christ.
Application: How has knowing Christ helped you gain more wisdom about life? Do you have any lessons about Christ and life in Him that you keep circling back to?
Prayer: Lord, keep me child-like in discovery of and delight in the treasures of wisdom I find in you. Amen.
“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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