Colossians 1 -part 4

Colossians 1:6 (ESV)

[6] which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth,

The gospel was producing fruit and growth in the lives of the Colossians believers. But notice that the fruit and growth followed their hearing and understanding. When we understand the Christian life as primarily doing without hearing and understanding we end up with a Pharisaical hollowness, an empty shell of show without anything of substance underneath. Doing comes from being. Being comes from hearing and understanding the truth.

When we emphasize doing without being we are like the boy that brought chocolate covered horse droppings to school and gave them to his friends. They looked really good, but they still tasted like horse droppings. On the other hand  it is not uncommon in the West to find novelty chocolates that look like deer, elk or bear droppings. Personally I would rather eat the chocolates that look like elk droppings than to eat the horse droppings that look like chocolate.

Too often in the church people are not fully accepted because they look a little different, or are a bit rough around the edges, but people that put on a good show without any substance underneath are readily accepted.  That is backwards. Jesus readily accepted the sinners who came to him knowing that they were sinners. It was the Pharisees with their show of righteousness that he called "white washed tombs full of dead men's bones. God takes no pleasure in our doing without our first being. "Faith comes by hearing and hearing  by the word of God." Fruit and growth come by hearing and understanding.

Father, forgive me for the times I have been more focused on doing than being. Today may I hear you well, understand you deeply and follow you closely.

By His grace,

Rick Weinert

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