When boarding an airplane do you ever glance into the cockpit and hope that the captain knows about each dial and lever and will be alert to each during the flight? Even those of us who live in less technically demanding environments need to be alert: Are there batteries in the smoke detector? Money in the checking account? What chapters were assigned for the test? Why is there need to be alert as a Christian? Shouldn’t you be able to relax in the knowledge that Christ has redeemed you and is taking care of everything?
There are a number of similarities between the Christians in Colossae in 65 CE and Christians today that makes “keeping alert” important. First, the Colossian Christians were expecting the impending return of Christ and the final moment of existence on earth. I remember Claudio, a dear teacher who took his faith very seriously. He expected Christ to return “on the clouds” (1 Thess 4:17). On clear days, he would move freely around the classroom, but on cloudy ones he hung out near the window, frequently glancing out, just in case Christ should come in on one of those clouds. Today, many Christians expect the imminent return of Christ; others, processing that expectation differently, see the existential arrival of Christ in one’s life to be right now, this very moment. “Now” is always the moment to be alert (and prayerfully thankful). Second, now as then you need to be alert to false teaching. After all, that is what this letter is about (and you are in college where you are constantly exposed to teaching—some of which could be false). Third, now as then, you need to be ready for the opportunity to grow in the faith and to be kind to others. Fourth, you need to be alert to the kinds of danger that put Paul in jail. Granted, in Colossians there does not seem to be the critical peril for Christians spoken of in 1 Peter or the book of Revelation, but Paul wasn’t in jail for failing to pay a parking ticket. There was much in the Christian message that was considered unpatriotic, antisocial, and irreligious. (Do you ever wonder whether Christianity shouldn’t still be illegal?) Fifth, you need to be alert in walking the difficult line between life in Christ and life in the world. There’s a lot going on. No wonder you need to be alert. Prayer can help you calm down and focus.
Prayer: I feel surrounded by threats and opportunities; keep me alert to which is which. Amen.
28 – When Opportunity Knocks
Colossians 4:3–4 — (3) At the same time pray for us as well that God will open to us a door for the word, that we may declare the mystery of Christ, for which I am in prison, (4) so that I may reveal it clearly, as I should.
Opportunity knocks? What an interesting image. It pictures you behind a closed door, waiting. Like sitting in jail with an indeterminate sentence. There is no suggestion that you can do anything to bring about the arrival of the one who will knock. The implication is that you have the choice to be prepared to respond or not. If you are prepared, are you on the same page as Paul—prepared for some specific opportunity, some already-chosen commitment to which you have given yourself wholeheartedly? And are you really ready when that “knock” comes? Are your college studies focused on being ready?
Paul was in jail, probably because of his activities as a Christian travelling around the Mediterranean world tending to the new Christian groups that he had founded. What exactly does Paul want to knock on that door? Is it release from prison? You would think so, but he doesn’t say that. Rather, his concern is to get that opportunity—that break—that will allow him to keep on doing what got him in jail in the first place! He wants to tell people—and tell them as clearly as possible—about the total sufficiency of Christ in providing all that they need.
The mystery of Christ is an amazing gift that you can take into your college experience. One way to look at it is in terms of the powerful promise that Christ can finally explain all the mysteries that there are. Another way to look at it is to experience Christ’s immense reconciling power personally in your own life and relationships. Remember, the “mystery” here is the total sufficiency of Christ alone.
In the face of what you learn in college you can wind up feeling rather insignificant; yet in Christ you are given significance, importance and uniqueness. Perhaps you are not the audacious bring-everyone-to-perfection go-getter that Paul was. But you have many wonderful opportunities to explore how “the mystery of Christ” meets you in your studies and experiences in college.
Prayer: Let me hear the prayers of others if they are prayers that I can answer. Amen.
29 – Carpe Diem
Colossians 4:5–6 — (5) Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. (6) Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.
We desire efficiency. Efficiency is the maximizing of some input while other inputs are allowed to (relatively speaking) diminish. And here you are, a student, involved in one of the most inefficient enterprises one could imagine: education. Your course of study and your individual classes involve you in a lot of effort that seems unnecessary. Art survey courses are taught to future accountants, algebra to future nutritionists, physics to future English teachers. Students often wonder why they need a literature class when they are destined for a business career or a first aid class when their interests are in computer science. It all seems so inefficient. We waste the sophisticated knowledge of the art historian trying to get an accountant to grasp the difference between Manet and Monet; the art specialist spends forty-five hours a semester with those who are not artists. The student and teacher are “outsiders” to one another. You are called to efficiency—that is, to “making the most of the time.” Okay, you say, you’re all for efficiency.
Then Paul unpacks it for you. You are to be helpful to . . . “outsiders,” those beyond your comfort zone. And you are to “conduct yourself wisely toward” them and “let your speech always be gracious.” That is beginning to sound not only inefficient and time-consuming, but downright demanding with all of those qualifications. But after all, isn’t one purpose of college to bring a whole lot of “outsiders” together, and communicating, and learning from each other? And in the end, isn’t the family of Christians a bit like that also?
A really good college experience will cause interruption after interruption in your otherwise-settled life. Jesus was constantly interrupted by “outsiders.” Indeed, his “thing” was precisely to be available to “outsiders.” To the extent that you live as a Christian, you live for others. Working and studying at the boundaries where Christians live, you have great opportunities to interact with “outsiders” and to use your time well. Time is God’s gift. What are you hoarding it for? Remember—sometimes you feel like an “outsider.” Jesus was definitely an “outsider.” He came to embrace the “outsiders.” Is there an “outsider” you need to embrace today?
Prayer: Please let me use the time well and say and do the right thing, remembering I was once an outsider. Amen.
30 – With a Little Help from My Friends
Colossians 4:7–15 — (7) Tychicus will tell you all the news about me; he is a beloved brother, a faithful minister, and a fellow servant in the Lord. (8) I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts; (9) he is coming with Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here. (10) Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, as does Mark the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him. (11) And Jesus who is called Justus greets you. These are the only ones of the circumcision among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. (12) Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you. He is always wrestling in his prayers on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured in everything that God wills. (13) For I testify for him that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. (14) Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you. (15) Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters in Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.
One of the great things about the college experience is meeting new people. Some can be extraordinarily weird—subjects of stories you will tell in years to come. Some can challenge with their ideas