29.08.07
Colossians (2): The Growing Gospel - Colossians 1:3-8
The other evening, as I was driving back from Inverness, I had to take a detour through Elgin – and it struck me as I was driving through Morayshire how green and fertile the land was. Morayshire and Aberdeenshire are known as the breadbasket of Scotland since most of the crops we eat come from there. Every spare bit of land has crops planted – the whole land is beautifully fertile – everywhere you look, everything is growing. The land is designed to grow. Growth is one of the signs of life. The person who stops growing dies. The Christian who stops growing in his or her faith dies spiritually. And so, churches should be filled with growing Christians – just as Morayshire is literally growing, so the mark of the church should be that of growing Christians. Remember what Peter says in 2 Peter 4:18 – “Grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” We must grow as Christians. But in what directions does Christian growth take place – how do we grow as Christians, and what will that growth look like? Paul gives us the answers in Colossians 1:3-8 – he proposes three directions for growth: growth in thanks (vs. 3), growth in truth (vs. 4-6) and growth in teaching (vs. 7-8) Read the rest of this entry »