Lesson 7 – Setting a Good Foundation – Continuing Hope, 21-23
Read Colossians 1 - https://www.bible.com/bible/59/col.1.esv
So far in this first chapter of Colossians, we’ve studied how relationships contribute to our faith being stable – first with those we can see, and then with Christ whom we cannot see. In our relationship with Jesus we’ve studied how thanksgiving and prayer make this possible from our side, and then how who Jesus is makes it possible from His side.
In verses 21-23 we see the effect of our stability in Him – hope. Let’s use these 3 verses to see if they can help us understand true hope. Verse 21 talks about the time before we were saved – why would we need to look at that in our lives? It gives us perspective.
When I was just barely a teenager my parents took us on vacation to Colorado, and I saw mountains for the first time in my life. We traveled a road that comes over the plains straight towards the mountains. We could see them from miles away. But as we got closer and closer it appeared to be a great valley between us and the mountains. It was breathtakingly beautiful. But our car started sounding strange, the closer we got to the mountains – we didn’t understand why it seemed to be running so hard when we were traveling downhill. Dad became concerned. He took his foot from the accelerator, hoping to coast downhill for a while to let the engine rest from working so hard, and we immediately rolled to a stop. Then Mom, having been this way before, said there was nothing wrong with the car – we should turn around and look behind us. Only then did Dad and we children realize we were not traveling downhill, but uphill. We needed perspective.
Just so, in our Christian life, perspective by looking at where we have been can sometimes tell us something about where we are going. With our past of sin in view, to now be reminded of what Christ has done for us by reconciling us to Him through His death gives us a view of where we yet need to go – a climb up the mountain of being above reproach, without blame, before Him. And just as we now realized how truly high those mountains were before us, so we as believers can see it will take being stable and steadfast in our resolve to remain true to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our “hope” to be able to see all the wonderful sights from the top of that mountain made us determined to get there, so our hope in Jesus Christ becomes the reason for continuing in the faith.
*In Romans 5:5, what will our hope in Christ never produce______