Before starting this study, take a moment to read Colossians 1:1-8. Although I’ll primarily be using the NIV version for the preparation of this study, you can read from whichever version you prefer.

Whenever we read one of Paul’s letters, it’s easy to almost skim past the thanksgiving and prayer section to move onto the “meat” of the letter. Perhaps it’s because we notice similarities between these greetings in each letter.

Or perhaps it’s because our instant gratification culture has conditioned to skip past anything that doesn’t seem immediately important.

However, it’s important to remember that these verses aren’t just Paul being polite, although this sort of format was the polite way to correspond through letters during his day. In his initial thanksgiving and prayer, Paul lays the groundwork for the things he has to say to the church in Colossae.

Faith, Hope & Love

Paul writes that he has heard of their faith in Christ. Even though Paul hadn’t ever met this church personally, he knew who they were because of the reputation they had for being people marked by faith, hope, and love.

The connections in these verses between faith, hope, and love are significant.

God’s people have hope stored up in heaven. That hope is knowing where they are going and trusting that Jesus is all they needed to be made heirs of God. Because of this great hope, their faith and love naturally follow. Knowing that Jesus is coming back, they live out their faith and love their neighbors as themselves.

Bearing Fruit

Paul knew about the people at Colossae because their faith, hope, and love caused them to bear fruit and grow throughout the world. Their growth and the lives they changed were a direct result of the change they experienced themselves.

The growth of the Gospel (and more specifically, more people choosing to follow Jesus) is a natural consequence of Christians living out real faith, hope, and love. When others see the ways that we’re different, they’re more likely to want to know why.

Application

Our faith, hope, and love need to be forcing us to be a distinctive, different people. Christians talk a lot about holiness, sometimes forgetting that it means to be set apart for service to God. Too often, Christians think they’re holy because of the set of special rules they follow. That can easily lead to believe that we’re better than others… without even letting any real change happen in our hearts.

Other people are changed when Christians actually live out the faith, hope, and love they claim to have. When we do things out of the overflow of God’s love in our hearts, it looks a lot different than when we toss the scraps of our time, energy, and affections as those we deem “below us.”

Imagine this: the person you love most (spouse, sibling, parent) gave you a gift. Best of all, it was the perfect gift for you. Something you’ve been wanting for ages.

But what if they gave you that gift in the most cold, unloving way possible. Imagine if instead of excitedly and joyously giving it to you, they tossed it in front of you and said, “I don’t get why you want something stupid like this, but whatever… here it is.”

Suddenly that “perfect” gift takes on a different tone. What could have been the best gift memory of your life might suddenly be the worst because it was given in such a cold, unloving way.

That’s what it’s like when we share the Gospel without allowing it to shape our hearts and our lives. No one wants to hear a message about a loving God from a bunch of the most unloving folks they’ve ever met.

Paul will spend a significant portion of Colossians talking about the need for real change. If we are going to change the world with Christ’s love, we need to first be completely changed. God must mold our hearts and our lives until we look like Christ. Our outward expressions of our faith mean nothing if our inward lives are not changed.

Prayer for Today

Lord Jesus,

Pour your faith, hope, and love into my heart today. Remind me of the ways you’ve changed my heart before. Help me to be aware of the ways you’re shaping my heart today. Let my life bear the fruit of the person you’ve created me to be.

Amen