...the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel 6 that has come to you. Colossians1:3-6
Yesterday we saw that the faith of the Colossian Christians was rooted in the reality of eternity. Now we must ask the same question about their love for one another. Paul has heard of their love - their reputation of being a loving community has spread. Where does this love come from?
From the hope of ETERNITY.
1.Their love for each other was not based on soppy sloppy sentimentality but on the simple premise that we are created to spend eternity with God and one another. (Relationships continue into eternity.)
2.Their relationships were based on the simple understanding that they would spend eternity with each other and that they would have eternity to consider how they had treated others. (The sheep and goats parable tells us that how we treat others matters to God.)
3.They reflected on the fact that the HOPE of eternity had been obtained by Jesus' supreme act of love on the cross. (We love because Jesus loved us.)
4.They recognised that we cannot take possessions into eternity, but we can bring our friends, neighbours, colleagues and family with us if we treat them with sincere love that points them toward the cross which is the epitome of love. (People matter more than things)
When we consider the person who drives us crazy or who has hurt us we should consider the following picture: We're in heaven, sitting at the feet of Jesus, experiencing His closeness and love, looking with gratitude at His nail-scarred hands... Next thing, along comes _that_ person and sits down next to us... At that moment the old hymn comes true: "The things of the earth grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace..."
The Colossians were learning to love on earth like we will love in heaven...
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
