Colossians 1:21:2-2

As I was sorting through some papers I had saved over the years, I ran across a prayer card. It has 31 different short prayers from the book of Colossians - one for each day of the month. I've decided to incorporate that into my quiet time. Each month I'll start at Colossians 1:1 and read until the prayer for the day. I'll gain the context around the prayer, and then spend some time meditating on the prayer for the day.

Yesterday I read 1:21-23. The prayer was "Father, I ask you to make my faith strong, stable & fixed on the truth of the gospel." It really hit home as I read the context of the basis of that prayer. It relates closely with some of the struggles I'm having right now: I've done evil things and I've had failures in my past, but Jesus came to bridge the gap between me and God. Because of Him, I am holy & blameless & beyond reproach if I continue in the faith and am not moved away from the hope of the gospel. (basically a paraphrase of verses 21-23)

As I read from 1:24-2:2 to correspond with today's prayer, I was just struck by Paul's willingness to give up his rights. He talks about sharing in Christ's affliction for the good of the church. He worked tirelessly to spread the gospel and to show Christ's love to all he came in contact with. To be a follower of Christ, specifically one in any ministry capacity, you really need to be willing to share in the affliction of Christ. You have to be willing to lay down your rights and desires and serve the members of the body. Leadership always works best when it is coupled with humility and a servant's heart, but in the church, it is non-negotiable. We are all called to be like Christ, and He was a humble servant - He washed His followers' feet.

I've experienced trying to be a servant while still holding onto what I want and what is comfortable for me. It does not work and it is not effective (or as effective as it could be). Christ is calling us to leave all of it behind - our desires that don't line up with His plan, our comfort zone, our dreams for the future. He's calling us to follow Him. A lot of time, He has placed desires and dreams within us and calls us to pursue them, but sometimes He asks us to wait or leads us away from those dreams. Sometimes those dreams are based on the flesh instead of the Spirit. The flesh part of me is screaming to hold onto what I want and to fight for it with everything in me. The new creation is aching to give it all to God and to follow His leading. It won't be easy, but I want to continue to learn day by day what it means to put Christ first in my life and to serve others before myself.