I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2 My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. (Colossians 2:1-5 NIV)
This past week, ex-Beatle George Harrison died. He was 58 years old. The cancer that had begun in his throat spread to his brain and finally took his life. Of course, there was much written about him this week. Most of what was written mentioned that he was a deeply spiritual man. People were impressed with his spirituality. And there is no doubt that he was a man who knew that there was more to this life than fame and money. In fact, I remember reading a comment some time ago in which he observed that after you had experienced success, met all of the famous people, and made some money, you found yourself wondering, "Is this it?" He had come to the conclusion that there was more.
In the press release that his family put out after his death, they quoted something that he had often said: "Everything else can wait, but the search for God cannot wait, and love one another." Of course, he was right. The search for God cannot wait. George Harrison searched in many places. He searched because he recognized what St. Augustine understood when he said that within all of us is a void that can only be filled with God.
We sense it as human beings. We seek to fill it with all kinds of things. We try to fill it with material possessions, money, sex, drugs, entertainment, achievement, education, and even religion. But none of those things is sufficient. I think it was C. S. Lewis who observed that if we find within us a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, we should begin to wonder whether we were not created for another world.
All of us have that longing. We desire a life worth living, a life that has meaning, not just utilitarian meaning, but transcendent meaning. Some have called it the search for significance. Harrison was right in calling it the search for God. You see, only God can give our lives transcendent meaning. Only God can give us a life worth living.
As Christians, we claim that we know where to find this life. We claim that this life can be found in the person of Jesus Christ. Indeed, Jesus himself said, "I am the life." And he also said that he had come so that we could have an abundant life. So, if you have found Christ, you have found abundant life, you have found a life worth living. That’s good news. It’s news we need to share with everyone.
I’ve noticed something interesting, however, about Christians. So many of us do not seem to be enjoying this abundant life that we claim we have in Christ. Why is that? We know the truth. We have both heard from and seen those who are experiencing the abundant life. And we have even experienced it ourselves at times.
Perhaps the answer lies in another question. Do we pursue what we know? Do we actively pursue the life that God has provided, or do we passively flounder, busying ourselves with other things? Let’s take a look at what our text reveals. I think we will find several principles that will help us take hold of this life.
I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. (Colossians 2:1 NIV)
The first thing we must see is that a life worth living requires struggle. Now I must be honest with you. I’m not a fan of struggle. I don’t like to struggle. And I’m sure that’s probably true of you as well. In fact, I can’t think of anyone who would prefer struggle over ease and comfort. If we have a choice, we want the easy way.
On the other hand, if you have lived any time at all, and have been a keen observer, you have to admit that you have discovered that most things worth anything come with struggle. What I’m speaking of is not a confused striving without purpose. I’m not talking about that kind of struggle. Rather, I’m talking about the struggle of plain old hard work. In other words, most things worth having require work.
The apostle Paul wanted them to know that he was struggling for them. Their spiritual well-being was his concern, but it wasn’t a passive concern. He was investing his life for them. As an apostle, his primary task was to preach the gospel and plant churches. It required hard work on his part. He would preach and teach the truth. He would disciple the converts. He would gather them into communities of faith. He would teach them how to operate as the church. He would counsel them. And he would pray for them. As a matter of fact, I believe that one of Paul’s primary ways of struggling for the churches he had established was through prayer. You see, prayer is the primary means of waging spiritual warfare, because our true enemies are not flesh and blood but spiritual powers of wickedness, demonic powers.
Paul struggled so that others could know Christ. And those of us who know Christ need to be willing to struggle to know him better. You see, all relationships require work. And our relationship with God is no different. If we want a better relationship with a friend, we must put some effort into that relationship. If we want a better relationship with our spouse, we must work at it. If we want a better relationship with Christ, we must invest time and energy and just plain hard work to do the things that we know we need to do to get to know him better.
The lesson here is that a life worth living requires struggle, but it is worth the effort!
My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. (Colossians 2:2-4 NIV)
The next thing we need to see is that a life worth living requires focus. Part of our struggle is to maintain our true focus. And the true focus of every Christian ought to be Christ!
Paul’s purpose in writing to these Christians was to present Jesus Christ as both supreme and sufficient. Christ is presented as the supreme God of the universe. He is the Creator. He is the Savior. He is the Lord. But he is also the sustainer of all things. In him all things hold together. He is the sustaining force of the universe. Paul tells us that in Christ we find all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and he desires for us to explore the resources available to us in Christ.
Our understanding of Christ is important. Our view of Christ determines how we relate to him. And how we relate to him is everything! You see, unless we understand just who Jesus Christ really is and what he has made available to us, we will live in ignorance of who we are in him and what we possess in him. So we must focus on Christ and do everything within our power to maintain that focus.
The danger is that we might be put off course. Paul anticipated that. In fact, he says that he is writing so that they would not be deceived by fine sounding arguments. There is always a danger that Christians can get off course by listening to the latest and newest teachings that claim some new insight or new revelation. So many Christians are suckers for the latest fad within Christianity. Unfortunately, as they are off chasing what they think is a move of God, they often miss God. Everything we need is found in Christ. We need to continue to focus on him and getting to know him better.
So many things conspire to keep us from being focused. We can become discouraged and lose our focus. We can let conflict pull our attention away from Christ. This is why Paul said that he wanted them to be encouraged in heart and united in love. Discouragement and disunity work against our knowing Christ. When we encourage one another and pull together as brothers and sisters in Christ, then we can maintain our focus on Jesus.
So the lesson here is that a life worth living requires focus, so we must keep the purpose in view. Someone once said that the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. Christ is the main thing for the Christian. He has what we need because he is all we need. So we must cultivate our relationship with him in such a way that he is at the center of our lives, not on the periphery. Remember, God does not want Christ to have a prominent place in your life; he wants Christ to have the preeminent place.
For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. (Colossians 2:5 NIV)
Finally, a life worth living requires discipline. If we are going to be focused, we must plan to be. And this requires discipline. Just as we must have physical discipline to achieve physical goals, we must have spiritual discipline to achieve spiritual goals.
Spiritual discipline is simply ordering our lives so that we can focus on God. It is building into our lives sufficient time and opportunity to get to know God.
Paul said that he was thrilled that they were orderly in practice and firm in their faith. What he is saying here is that they were disciplined in their walk with God. In other words, they had a plan. They knew what they wanted to do and they understood how they were trying to get there.
They were also steadfast in their faith because they were disciplined. One flows from the other. Without discipline, you will never be steadfast in your faith. Rather, you will be inconsistent and unsteady.
It always amazes me that so many Christians think that Christianity requires little or nothing from them. It amazes me that so few Christians really study the word of God. Many Christians believe that they can become an expert in Christianity without any real effort on their part. If they were going to become a lawyer, they would go to law school and spend several years studying all aspects of the law. If they were going to become a doctor, they would go to medical school and spend years studying medicine. Most pastors have spent many years in college and seminary studying the Bible, and yet many people who have never even read the Bible all the way through think they know as much about it as the pastor does. What’s up with that?
If you’re going to really know Christ, you must discipline yourself to study, to pray, and to serve. You must have a plan and then follow the plan. It will not happen by accident. And it will not happen unless you make it a priority.
Here is the lesson. A life worth living requires discipline, so we must be intentional. We must order our lives in such a way that we plan to get to know God. We must order our time in such a way that we make opportunities to serve God, to worship God, to read and study God’s word, and to respond to his leading.
The bottom line in all of this is that Christians should be proactive. We should be proactive in pursuing the relationship that we have been given through Christ’s proactivity. You see, Jesus Christ has already made the first move. He reached out to us in love. He gave his life for us on the Cross. He died there to pay for our sins. He was not passive. And just as he was proactive, so must we be. If we want to grow in our knowledge of God, we must pursue Christ actively.
In Christ is everything we need. We have just scratched the surface of all that God has for us in Christ. The message here is that we need to explore Jesus Christ to the full. As we do, we will find ourselves experiencing a life worth living.
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