LETTERS

LETTERS: Walk Worthy

Day 1

Read Colossians 1

6:30 AM is an early meeting time when you are a college student. The twelve of us met weekly in the Student Union on campus, rain or shine, for spiritual formation and leadership development. We were the leadership team of an on campus organization started through our church who had a goal to serve our peers and reach them with the Gospel.

Most of the students knew one another before the organization was formed because they all attended the church’s late night worship service. I, on the other hand, did not know any of them before those early morning meetings. That is why it was such a shock to me when the group elected me Co-President of our organization. 

There I was, feeling totally unprepared yet co-leading our meetings and orchestrating campus outreach. I would come to find out that they chose me not because I had all of the answers but because they saw me as someone willing to step up to the plate. Though leadership at this level was knew to me, there was a team of seasoned church staff willing to guide me. Their trust and leadership emboldened me to lead in uncharted territory.

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul is doing something similar with the church at Colosse. This church was full of fire for the Lord and a heart full of faith. However, it was a young church, and there were a number of issues at hand that sought to lead the church astray in its mission. In an effort to encourage and guide them, Paul lays out his main point in chapter one. 

“… walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him…” (1:10a ESV)

Sometimes the world presses in and makes us question things we know and believe. Sometimes newness itself - whether in a relationship, friend group, set of classes, spiritual exposure or just general life season - makes us feel unequipped and unqualified. What do we do when this happens? How do we navigate new or unsteady life circumstances? According to Paul, we walk worthy by remembering Christ. When we are unsure of what to do, we must first remember who we belong to. 

This letter ends with the Gospel and the supremacy of Christ in full view (1:15-23). Whether it is fear of the future, comfort in the present, or shame from the past that seeks to lead you astray and confuse your mission, call to mind the power of Christ, who will “present you holy and blameless and above reproach” (1:22) when you continue to walk worthy. 

Reflection Questions

Leave a comment (anonymous or not) regarding one of these questions below or another point from the devotional

List out the markers of walking worthy listed in verses 9 - 12. Which of these come easiest to you? Which are more difficult? 

Why do you think Paul expounds on the supremacy of Christ (1:15-22) after exhorting the church to walk worthy? What does the passage say is the role of Christ in our personal walk?