Today, my son came home with the paper in the picture above and it made me think about how I would enjoy making God smile every day of my life and I hope that we share the same wish as Christians. Luckily, as mentioned in the previous post, Jesus has really left us something to look at to know how to live the life He wants us to live and that something is His word. Chapter three of the book of Colossians shows us how to live in Christ, as God’s children. When we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we gave up our old selves and embraced our new selves. On top of that, our baptism is a symbol that we died (as we go under the water) and have been brought back to life (came back out of the water) with Jesus.
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” Colossians 3:1. We are called to live a life that pleases God and to do so, we must set our minds on things above and not on earthly things (Colossians 3:2). There are so many things that we should not take part in if we are followers of Christ such as sexual immorality, idolatry of any kind, complaining, to underestimate oneself, jealousy, anger, filthy language from your lips, etc, because all those things are from our earthly nature, they belong to our flesh. However, the Bible tells us that we belong to God, that our lives are hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). Who are we to give direction to our lives? Why don’t we make an effort to change our behavior? to form new and good habits? I think sometimes Christians tend to go with the flow of life and forget that we have a purpose in this life, we are here for a reason. We are the ambassadors of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20), God is making His appeal to the world through us but in order to do your job, you have to take off your old self with its practices and put your new self, which is being renewed in the knowledge in the image of its Creator (Colossians 3: 9 – 10).
Maybe you are asking yourself how you are supposed to change this way, and the response is spending quality time with God. This is the center of every success in our relationship with God and the relationship with other people, as well as living our life based on the word of God. Let’s form new habits that please God, that bring us where God wants us to be. Let’s remember that the way we live our lives can change someone else’s life.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:12-14
The above verses tell us what to do as children of God. Let us make a difference in this world, let us be the light we are supposed to be. “Don’t hide your light! Let it shine for all; let your good deeds glow for all to see so that they will praise your heavenly Father” (Matthew 5: 5:16). If you have already discerned your gift, use it for God, if not ask God to show you ways to serve His kingdom. That can be doing those little things we don’t realize like babysitting for your friend’s kids for her to rest, assisting someone in need of food or money, etc. Through our deeds, our God will be praised. This chapter goes even beyond telling how one should live and also talks to couples and anyone working for someone else. Wives are called to submit to their husbands, husbands are called to love their wives and not be harsh with them, and parents are asked to not embitter their children, we are also asked to obey our earthly masters with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord (Colossians 3: 18-22).
Our lives should reflect God’s character in everything we do, say, and think. We should stop acting like everyone else; for example, do not start complaining about your boss’s behavior but pray for him/her. Let us remember that we will be rewarded by the Lord for everything we do here on earth so whatever we do, let us work at it with all our heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters (Colossians 3: 23). Bring a godly atmosphere everywhere you go: at your job, your house, your church, the grocery store, your kid’s soccer match, etc. God wants you to be involved in every area of your life. If you let Him completely in your life, you will be able to live the life He wants you to live through the Holy Spirit’s guidance, He will help you take off your old self and put on your new self and you will make God smile.
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