Colossians 2:6-7 “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” There is am old saying, “The devil rocks the cradle of a sleeping Christian.” Those who have received Christ are no longer lost, that is true, but can lulled into a nothing existence. What do I mean by that? Well, let’s look at our text verses again.
There is an expectation written here for all those who received Christ Jesus the Lord. It is to walk like a Christian, talk like a Christian, live like a Christian so that others might be drawn to the saving knowledge of Christ.
Being rooted means that you are a stable influence for Christ, not a person that is easily influenced by the world around them. Let me tell you about Kermit, a man I worked with in New York, or rather let me tell you about his wife. His wife professed to be a Christian. Kermit related this story to me. “Mike, she goes to church on Sunday and comes home with smiles and good intentions. On Monday, she cooks and cleans and my life is good.
On Tuesday, her halo begins to slip a little and she begins to complain about things around the house. On Wednesday morning, I get up early to go get coffee at a local shop so I can be out of the house. Her halo is gone and her claws come out. Then Wednesday night she goes to church again. Thursday is wonderful and she treats me well again and works around the house singing to herself. Friday, the complaining starts again. Saturday I spend all day basically hiding for it isn’t safe in the house. She has been known to throw things when she is angry. I make up stuff to do to be gone on Saturday, men the cycle begins again on Sunday.”
This, my friend, is not a stable influence for Christ. This isn’t rooted and built up in Him. This reminds me of a pep rally instead of a church service. She goes, is encouraged to do well, then goes home to do well. This is quickly drained out somehow. Some call the encouragement as being filled with the spirit. It makes me wonder where the leak is if people can be so good the day after and so rotten the days that follow. Instead of going back time and time again to be refilled with the spirit, I think I’d try to find the leak and see about patching it.
Rooted, built up, stablished are all three terms of stablity. This is a Christian’s duty to God for receiving His Salvation. ICorinthians 6:20 “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” lCorinthians 3:16 “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”
“I had a debt I could not pay, He paid the debt He did not owe, I needed someone, To wash my sins away. And now I sing a brand new song, “Amazing grace” all day long, Christ Jesus paid the debt, That I could never pay.” That come from a hymn written by an unknown author, but he or she should be known for this is truth in the form of a hymn.
As a Christian we need a stable influence in our home, in our church, and in our community. I want to share one other poem with you. Not sure who wrote it, but this is the second stanza of the poem: “We are the only Bible this careless world will read; We are the sinner’s Gospel, We are the scoffer’s creed; We are the Lord’s last message, Given in deed and word; What if the type is crooked? What if the print is blurred?”
Do people know we are Christians by ou walk and talk? Are we in church on Sunday after leading our family from Monday through Saturday? Are we a positive influence to our community? Too long we have been the “Silent Majority” or the “Quiet Witness”. On the way back from Ft. Smith on 64 highway there is a billboard. In closing, I want to finish with what it says, “Christian? Act like it!”
