Get Focused...Colossians 1:1-8

Colossians 1:1-8
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— 5the 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 6that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth. 7You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

Paul's first comment to the church in Colosse (after his openning) is his thankfulness for them primarily because of how much they love the saints. I talk a lot about loving people who do not follow Christ. I don't talk a lot about loving people who already do...sometimes we (notice I included myself in this group) are the hardest ones to love. And yet this is what Paul commends. How do I move myself...get moved...allow God to move, me to love the saints better? The answer comes in verse 5...which is interesting. Paul says that their love "springs from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven". How does the hope of heaven, the future, intimacy with Jesus Christ, create love here on earth? I thought that thinking about the kingdom of heaven on earth was going to help me love here, not vice versa? I'm not sure, but here is a guess...when the hope of heaven becomes our primary focus, when it becomes our absolute joy, I think we will be more willing to sacrifice here on earth, because it does not compare with heaven. (by the way, that is what love seems to be all about, sacrificing here on earth). When our hope or joy is not tied to things on this earth, including acceptance by others, stuff etc. we will much more willingly give those up as we love others unconditionally. This seems to have been the case with Moses in Hebrews 11. He was looking ahead to his reward, so he sacrificed everything here on earth. Our focus of heaven should not remove us from focusing on earth...it should enable us to be focused on earth...on loving others.