Re:Verse passage – Colossians 1:1-8 (day three)
“We have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have.”
We moderns tend to translate events into quantifiable data; therefore we might imagine Paul had heard that many had “prayed to receive Christ”. But the witness of the New Testament is that when this new movement generated news, the biggest story wasn’t that people were “walking the aisles”—celebration-worthy though that would be—but rather that forgiveness began to happen, patterns of living began to change, enemies got reconciled, the poor began to be noticed, resources got shared, family wounds began to heal, and people sacrificed their lives for others out of love for Christ. Living in such a way is all but unheard of in this world. When it happens, it is momentous news. Paul’s words give us hope that we can generate such tidings again.
Beautiful post, Bryan. And timely.