Continue In Him!

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6‭-‬7 NIV

Before you go deep into today's extract, there is an assumption or decision that has to be settled. Today's extract starts with that assumption, and it is that you have received Christ as Lord. It is not about knowing Him as Lord, or reading about his Lordship, or telling others about his Lordship; it is first about your own personal decision to make Him Lord of your life. So many people know, acknowledge and admit that He is mighty, but very few have ACCEPTED him as Lord of their lives, and until He lives in you, he cannot make the required change.

If the assumption is therefore true, then the other parts of today's extract would also be true. You cannot start in God and then seek to continue on your own strength. You cannot submit to God at a point in your life and then seek to take charge at other times. It has to be a total, daily submission or nothing at all.

Let's check out the additional details of the process: first you are rooted. Until you take root, the quality and possibility of your fruit will be greatly reduced. No tree with a desire to bear lasting fruit is content with shallow roots; deep roots take time to form, but the benefits will be seen by all for a long time to come.

When the roots are deep, then the building up can take place. Once the foundations are sure, the process of growth will take time but will surely take place. One cannot take place without the other. Part of the process of growth is being strengthened by Bible study, prayer and communion with God and fellowship with man. That's the idea behind Psalm 1:2-3 NIV which states that 'but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers'. Meditation, fellowship with God and obedience are sure pathways to fruitfulness.

Of course, when all the things mentioned above are settled, the heart will always rejoice. I am not a function of what goes on around me, but who lives inside me. I am not defined by my external circumstances, but by the Presence of the One whose life I live. If my true worth can be quantified only I'm monetary terms, then I have not even begun the journey of purpose. If I check my life today, can I say I have joy, as birthed by God's presence in me? When men look at me, do they see that indeed, like the apostles of old, that I have met with Jesus? His time of favour is here.