I. The Word: Colossians 1:25-29

25Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, 26that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, 27to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. 29For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.

II. Reflection Questions:

1. What is the purpose for all your labor, or work?

2. What is Paul’s purpose for all his labor according to this passage?

3. Assume that your purpose for your labor is actually reached, perfected, will it last for eternity? What are the applications of your answer to this question?

The picture attached to this entry is very special to me. It was taken last March as Eleanor and I went to Europe to celebrate our 10 year anniversary in Rome. It is a picture of the very ancient Roman Forum, and if you look at the top right corner you will see the Coliseum. I like this picture because you rarely see the Coliseum in its geographical and civic context, only by itself…which is a shame because you miss so much looking at it that way! Looking at the the Coliseum by itself you see that it is historic, amazing, and a thing of beauty. It is also dirty, ran down, and full of evil and brutal history that is not what I would call good. You can learn all of that after a free audio tour, but once you walk across the street to the forum and study there you see, understand, and are baffled by the smallness of just that one building. You understand the role the Coliseum played in the bigger picture of the city of Rome.

People are like that as well, by themselves you can see them and their wonder and beauty, but in their home, their context, you get to see the real them. Ten, eleven, years ago Eleanor was pretty easy to see, to diagnose. I had a good read on her. I thought I had a good read on her. Then I spent time with her in her context, her family, especially her immediate family. You can present the fake version of you to the universe and fool most of the people in this world, but you cannot get away with that with the people you grew up in the same house. You think you know a person? Go spend a week or two in a cabin in the isolated woods with that person and the people they grew up in the same house with and you will learn a lot that you did not know. That nice person, is not always nice. That servant minded Christian you see at church can be quite selfish and lazy. They can also be more joyful and fun than you thought. More care free, easy going, and long suffering than the initial report you filled stated. People are beautiful and ugly, complex yet simple, and good but bad…all at the same time.

The coliseum, Eleanor, all people, and God all have this in common…you can know them a little bit, but once you start to pull back the layers and spend some time with them in more and more settings, in more and more contexts, your knowledge abounds! I have been in church for 32 years, been a legitimate disciple of Jesus for 16 years, and in  ministry for 13 years. If I have learned anything about God it is how much I do not know! The rabbit hole keeps getting deeper…and I love it!

This week, and the next week, in Starter we are setting things up for our four month journey through the book of Romans as a church.

Why 4 months in Romans? For me the book of Romans in the Bible is like this picture of Rome, and it is like that cabin with Elle’s family in the woods. This book gives the whole picture, the whole context, of God for me. Yes, I can read a Psalm or Proverb and get a glimpse at who He is and marvel. I see His justice, His wrath towards idolatry, His grace, and His patience in Exodus. To me, however, Romans gives the  bigger context. It takes everything from the Tanakh (Old test), everything from the 4 gospels/biographies of Jesus, and the book of Acts, and then allows me to stand back and see the bigger picture.

I am bringing all kinds of joy and excitement to this 4 months in the 16 chapters of Romans.In Romans I learned what sin is and that I am a sinner (Ch. 1-3), what grace is and that I need it (4-6), what a process is and that I am in one (7), what persevering hope is and how inseparable it is (8), what theology is and how to think it (9), what a Jew is and that I want to be one (10-11), and finally I learned what the church is and that it is the key ingredient for the slice of life I am called to create (12-16).

I pray and long to be a part of a church that wants more, desires more, and strives for more of God no matter the cost, no matter how much you think you already have, and no matter how far you have to travel to take the time to step back and see God in His context.

If you do this these 4 months you will see more of God, and that means that your joy will exponentially increase, your fears and anxieties will dramatically decrease, and your passion for Jesus and His kingdom to reach every nation will never cease!

Enjoy and then enlist.