Colossians 1.9-10
“We have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to live a life worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
The Lord calls you to live a strategic life. He calls you to live with purpose. Building on the message in yesterday’s devotional, consider God’s strategic purpose and plan, and understand the power of his call on your life.
Creation: Life is given. God created man in his image and commissioned man to have dominion over planet earth. God’s intent was that man would rule and manage on earth as an agent/steward of God’s kingdom.
The Fall: Life is lost. Man rebelled against God’s rule and, as a result, moved into a condition of death (image of God in man distorted and damaged). Man continued to have dominion, but he did so with a broken character and separated from God. The creation also was broken and subjected to entropy/decay.
Redemption: Life is restored. God sent his Son Jesus to redeem and restore the image of God in those who respond in faith. Through faith in Christ, we are reconciled with God, and we move from a condition of death to a condition of life. The kingdom of God is now back on earth in and through the followers of Jesus. However, the world remains broken and subject to sin and death.
The Call: Life is lived. Jesus calls us to follow him, and he admonishes us to live a life that is worthy of that calling. In other words, he calls us not simply to receive new life in Christ, but to live that new life every day in everything we do.
“I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” (Ephesians 1.9-10)
We are called to be agents of redemption and restoration in the midst of a broken world. We are called to reflect his image and represent his rule. To effectively accomplish this mission, we must fight the internal battle with our old sin nature, and we must fight the external battle with the devil and his world of temptations, enticements, and deception.
This is the life that Jesus brings and scripture declares. It is central to God’s strategic purpose and plan in your life and through your life.
Coram Deo
