Encouraging words

John Povey July 16, 2025 0 0

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Colossians 1: 1-14 (NIVUK)

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

2 To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people – 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world – just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. 7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

‘Bearing fruit’, ‘growing’, ‘being strengthened’, ‘giving joyful thanks to the Father’.  Such are the results of living a life worthy of the Lord. This whole passage from Colossians is bright and positive and uplifting.

Paul begins his letter by expressing thankfulness for these people to whom he writes.  He continues by giving them genuine encouragement. Thinking about someone is good; loving them is even better, but praying for them shows the special place they hold in your heart. And Paul never stopped praying for these Christians of Colossae. Their faith was bearing fruit, and that brought joy to Paul’s heart 

It doesn’t matter what our gifts or qualifications may be, or how varied or limited our talents. God has no ornamental shrubs in His orchards! We are expected to live a life “worthy” of being called a Christian. Our choices, our conduct, and our character must bring honour to His name and be pleasing to Him. Then we will bear much fruit. This will be a sign to those around us that we love Jesus and have learned from Him.

Paul had a wonderful gift of being able to offer words of encouragement. He shows how we too can build each other up. Sometimes we are only a few kind words away from changing other people’s lives and indeed transforming the world around us through grace. Life gives so many opportunities to communicate and encourage one another. It doesn’t take much for something to mean a whole lot.

To be encouraged in our faith, and to bring encouragement to others in their faith too, brings joy to our hearts and a spring in our step.

Prayer:

Lord, give me the patience and endurance to follow Jesus with diligence and enthusiasm each new day. May my words and actions be worthy of Him. May my efforts yield the abundance of a fruitful life, and bring to me and those around me the blessing of joy from Your gracious provision. Amen.