It's amazing how powerful the scriptures in the Bible are. God's word has the ability to invade your mind and change your life. It took a year for me to finish reading the Old Testament. Now, I am working through the second half and each day I come across scripture that encourages, strengthens, and teaches me.
Colossians, a book in the new testament, consists of the apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae. Paul writes this letter to encourage the church to live godly lives according to the teachings of Jesus. He writes, “And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him (Col 2:6-7)”. Paul reminds the Christians of their identity in Christ. He is Lord and our Savior. Paul desires for Christians to focus on basing their lives on God, and not let the ways of the world change their hearts.
Living in our world today, I find this book especially encouraging to read. There’s no doubt evil and ungodliness surrounds us and being a Christian in modern America goes against societal norms. Living according to the teachings of the Bible seems too old fashioned. A Christian living in America becomes a joke among their friends and coworkers. Believing that premarital sex is wrong, divorce is unacceptable, and that same-sex marriage is sinful, is deemed radical. Schools, businesses and organizations shy away from celebrating Christmas and Easter. Instead, they celebrate winter break and the arrival of spring. The most holy day in the Christian religion becomes centered around a pink bunny handing out chocolate. Our secular culture discourages us, as followers of Christ, to declare our beliefs and live a godly life. Christians are pressured to conform to the ways of this world and hide their faith.
We face this struggle now, but even 2,000 years ago, the apostle Paul wrote a letter to Christians and warned them of the problem. Paul writes “Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God (Col 3:2-3).” As a Christian, we must set our minds on heavenly things because we live in such a hostile world. Heaven is our real home and we all must keep our minds on that fact.
It’s important for us, as Christians, to read the Bible and meditate on the scriptures. Hold them close to your heart and use them as encouragement. This immoral and empty world is not our home. We all have a longing for Jesus and we all have a longing to return home.