Foundations: Empowered
Join us as we take a closer look at each building block of FHC’s Mission Statement using the book of Colossians as our lens:
“To be a relationally driven community that seeks to encounter God, empower Christ-centred lives, and faithfully serve others"
Scripture: Colossians 2:6-15
What are you thankful for? Maybe it’s your job? Your family? What about your health? There are so many things to be thankful for in life but so often the challenge that we face in our daily lives is that there are distractions that steal from our thankfulness. That is why for Paul, when he considers the life of the Christian that is being rooted in Christ, he see’s the direct results of that life being one of abundant thanksgiving. Indeed, this is at the heart of why we celebrate Easter. In Christ we get to experience a life that is given new meaning in light of the resurrection. This is because of the cosmic implications of a God who says death is defeated and that includes whatever bleak situation we find ourselves in. It is strange then that when we think of what our response should be to such a message, our instincts so often instinctually and wrongly turn to what we ought “to do”. This eventually becomes a list of to-do lists that only lead us further away from the truth. For first century Christians, the temptation was to fall back in to patterns of legalism. As Paul describes in this passage, these patterns are all summed up in the idea of external markers of faith such as circumcision. The results of such a posture is one that only steals from our joy and leads to deeper shame. But rather than leaning into these tendencies, Paul points us to the true marker of faith which is a life full of thanksgiving. He does so by using an the analogy of what rulers would do after they’ve conquered their foes. Traditionally, the ruler would have a parade in the city streets on the way to his palace with his defeated enemies following in tow. By describing the work of the Cross in these terms in verse 15, Paul is essentially saying that Jesus’ journey to the Cross was his victory lap and the crowd who thought they were shaming him as they mocked him were in actuality being shamed themselves. Therefore, by pointing us to the life-giving nature of the Resurrection, Paul wants us to experience resurrection for ourselves by claiming Jesus’ victory as our own and having our only required response being a life full of thanksgiving since the battle has already been won.
Study Questions:
1.) Take some time to write down what you’re thankful for in life. Pray over these things and, if you feel so inclined, share them with someone special in your life.
2.) What other external markers of faith do we struggle with overemphasizing in our own lives?
3.) What does resurrection mean to you?
4.) What are some authentic ways we can live out our thanksgiving for others to see?
