Paul opened his letter to the brethren in Colossae with a prayer.
“We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and the grace of God in truth…” (Colossians 1:3-6 NKJV)
He was thankful to God for their faith in Christ Jesus, their love for all the saints, and for the hope that was reserved in heaven for them.
The lovely thing was that Paul had heard of their faith and their love for their fellow Christians. Both their faith and their love had become known and evident to others – consider Paul’s instructions to Timothy: “…be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity… Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all…” (1 Timothy 4:12, 15 NKJV). They were living their faith (James 1:21-27) and putting their love into action (1 John 3:18), because of these, Paul knew they were assured of the hope laid up in heaven for them.
Their faith, love, and hope, from the day they heard the gospel, was bearing fruit; they were flourishing in their development to maturity and their growth became obvious to others! Read and consider Galatians 5:16-26 and the awesome power of the gospel in Hebrews 4:12 and 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
Do you want to bear fruit? Anchor your hope in God’s promise of eternity with Him, build up your faith through study and obedience, and let your love for God fuel your love for fellow Christians who are walking the narrow path alongside you! Do what you can to help and encourage them, remind them of God’s grace, and show them by your humble example how to live in faith, hope, and love!
You can do it! So can I!!
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