Together in Christ: 'Giving Value to Our Spiritual Family' — Colossians 1:2-3

Relationships are challenging for us because every single person we meet has one thing in common with the person we see in the mirror each morning: We are all flawed. We can choose to fixate on each others' flaws, or we can commit to building up those God leads into our lives.

The house churches in Colosse ^[1] were new and full of flawed people. They didn't have much experience living the kind of life the Lord wanted of them. However, Paul, the apostle, chose to focus on how precious they were - both to God and to him, even though he had never met many of them face-to-face. ^[2] In addition, Paul used his letter to reassure these new believers in Colosse that they had been taught the full message of Jesus ^[3] and were valued by God as His holy people. ^[4]

Paul's example is our reminder to affirm the faith and goodness of others who are following Jesus. Blessing our brothers and sisters in Christ must be our first move in our relationship with other believers, especially new believers. All believers have shortcomings in their faith and gaps in their understanding of all that God wants them to have. Nevertheless, each one is someone for whom Christ died. ^[5] That makes all of them incredibly valuable to the Father and should make them precious to us, also.

Whether new or long-time believers, let's make an effort to notice each other doing what is good, right, and holy. Then, let's affirm those good things to each other. We can then give thanks to God for them as we pray for them, and also let them know they bring us joy when we pray and bring them into the presence of the Father!