DAILY READING
Colossians 3:18-25DEVOTION / REFLECTION
Instruction for Christian Households
by Tom Richards
The title in my bible for today’s reading is “Instructions for Christian Households”. These verses are very similar to those found in Ephesians 5:22-6:9. Most scholars believe both letters were written while Paul was imprisoned (possibly under house arrest) in Rome in 60 A.D. The issue of order in the family – including slave/master (or perhaps employee / employer) relationships must have been one needing attention given the words found in both Ephesians and Colossians.
For me, it is important to look at the context of Paul’s guidance by reading some verses that precede his instructions regarding “family” relationships. For example, in Colossians 3:12-14 we read “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” And in Ephesians 5:21 Paul says “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
With these verses in mind, words like submit (verse 18), love (verse 19), obey (verse 20 and 22) and “do not embitter” (verse 21) seem to follow when we are living in obedience to Christ. There is no issue regarding “worth” or “superiority” or “position” if we live with “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” And certainly not if we “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
How we live out these “instructions” can have a direct impact on the “health” of our families, including our workplace or other situations where we might be in authority or under the authority of someone else. Many years ago I memorized Colossians 3:23. At the time I had a summer job (college years) in a grain elevator. One of my tasks was to unload farmers’ trucks and wagons during oats harvest. Thankfully, this was not a major crop and harvest lasted a little over a week, but what a miserable week it was! If you know anything about oats, they come with many hulls, dust, and are very “itchy”. I thought of Colossians 3:23 (“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters”) more than once during those hot summer days!
The title in my bible for today’s reading is “Instructions for Christian Households”. These verses are very similar to those found in Ephesians 5:22-6:9. Most scholars believe both letters were written while Paul was imprisoned (possibly under house arrest) in Rome in 60 A.D. The issue of order in the family – including slave/master (or perhaps employee / employer) relationships must have been one needing attention given the words found in both Ephesians and Colossians.
For me, it is important to look at the context of Paul’s guidance by reading some verses that precede his instructions regarding “family” relationships. For example, in Colossians 3:12-14 we read “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” And in Ephesians 5:21 Paul says “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
With these verses in mind, words like submit (verse 18), love (verse 19), obey (verse 20 and 22) and “do not embitter” (verse 21) seem to follow when we are living in obedience to Christ. There is no issue regarding “worth” or “superiority” or “position” if we live with “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” And certainly not if we “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
How we live out these “instructions” can have a direct impact on the “health” of our families, including our workplace or other situations where we might be in authority or under the authority of someone else. Many years ago I memorized Colossians 3:23. At the time I had a summer job (college years) in a grain elevator. One of my tasks was to unload farmers’ trucks and wagons during oats harvest. Thankfully, this was not a major crop and harvest lasted a little over a week, but what a miserable week it was! If you know anything about oats, they come with many hulls, dust, and are very “itchy”. I thought of Colossians 3:23 (“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters”) more than once during those hot summer days!
Hopefully, I was able to honor Christ by applying one of the “Instructions for Christian Households” that we read about today. Take some time to think about how Paul’s words have affected your life and consider sharing that example with someone you know.
PRAYER PRACTICE
Out loud, pray for God to speak to you through your reading. Praise God for giving us His word. Ask the Spirit to help you read with faith, and to live out what you hear from God through the passage.
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