Verse: Colossians 2:6-8
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.
Thoughts
There is an invitation in this verse to a daily, radical walk with Jesus. I love how Paul encourages us to continue to live our lives in Him. So much of our faith walk is continuing. Not giving up. Not getting distracted. Just as we received Jesus as Lord in our lives, with that same fervor and whole hearted love and commitment, let us continue in him.
How do we continue in him? We root and build our lives in him. Everything about our life becomes connected to, and dependent on, him. All of our decisions, passions and desires become built out of his leading and love. Does that sound radical? Too extreme? Over the top? What if it's not radical at all? What if it's just exactly what we need?
A few years ago I was putting up an Intex above ground plastic pool at our house. The key is to get the ground level, because those pools aren't super sturdy. If it's off by 1/4" from one side to the other, it can greatly affect the water, and eventually break the pool. I worked so hard on this and, using a method I found on YouTube, I had it pretty darn close. Then my father in law came over. He has a lifetime of experience in contracting. I'll never forget when he stood on the deck and said, "that's not level Christian."
So what? He was being too extreme right? He was being a stickler. But the thing is, he was right, and it mattered. In order for this project to work, it had to be rooted correctly, and built up correctly. He gave me better tools and taught me how to do it correctly, and I got it almost perfectly level.
The thing is, radical discipleship is only extreme sounding if we don't understand how important it is for us to flourish in life. God has our best in mind when he leads us, we just need to trust him. So yes, root and build everything in Jesus. It is radical. And it's worth it. Because our lives are so incredibly valuable, and he wants to lead us to the abundant life he promises us.
Prayer
I pray that you would lead me to a life of being rooted and built up in you Lord.