How do you view yourself? As a Christian, you are greatly loved and highly valued by God. Is it your purpose to present your life as an offering worthy of such love? In Romans 12:1 Paul states that this is our spiritual act of worship. What is the worthy life? It is a lifestyle that pleases God. Colossians 1:10-12 describes four evidences of the worthy walk. First, it is a life that is fruit-bearing or bearing fruit in every good work. Paul is talking about works or deeds. The witness of a righteous Christian can impact the most cynical of people and while preaching the gospel is important, the faithful, persistent and consistent witness of a Christian before an unbeliever can touch and motivate them towards faith.

The second evidence of a worthy walk is "growth in the knowledge of God." How do we grow in the knowledge of God? I believe we grow, of course, by reading and studying and meditating upon the Scriptures and then applying them to our lives. As John the Baptist said, "Christ must increase and I must decrease."

I want to tell you two true stories. Story number one. A man came to one of the churches I pastored many years ago who had memorized hundreds of Bible passages and paragraphs of Scripture. His head was full of verses. If you called him on the phone in the morning, before he said "hello" he would rattle off a verse. But his heart seemed totally void of any compassion or love or understanding and it was full of judgment and criticism. I can still remember some of the ugly things he said, the insults, how he hurt people. Oh, he knew he was right. He knew God was on his side because he had a verse to prove it. I am the first one to say Scripture memorization is important because it will help you and it will support you in times of difficulty. This man had the same problem the Corinthians had. And listen to what Paul said to them in 1 Corinthians 8:1b-3: "Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him." J.I. Packer says it well, "The knowledge of God to which the Christian should aspire should show itself outwardly in a transformed character." This man was so unappealing in his character and manner that if my house were on fire and this man was standing outside with a hose, I am not sure if I would even ask for his help.

Story number two. Years ago it was the first Sunday in our new church and I was the new pastor. Ollie, my wife, and I were sitting in Sunday School class for adults and we were just observing. After they socialized for about ten minutes, the question came up, "Well, what shall we study next?" And one brave soul suggested, "Is there any way we could possibly study something about God?" This is absolutely true. As Ollie and I sat there listening, I got a huge hint as to where my preaching was going to go in the next few years because the answer to that question came back like this: "Is there any way to find out about God and where could we possibly go to learn about God? Is there any book we could study?" Wow! These questions were asked in a church. These people had been fed on what is called relational theology, which is a New Age self-empowerment program. These people did not have a clue about what Jesus was all about. To them he was nothing more than a great man, not the actual revealed Son of God, our Redeemer.

These two stories show me something. First of all, it is a mistake to not integrate the whole gospel and the teachings of Christ into the total revelation of the message of God. You cannot separate your inviting Christ into your life as Savior from who you are as a person. That is part and parcel of the whole package. The way you treat others in your life every day is very significant. Somebody wrote "faith without common sense is fanaticism and common sense without faith is rationalism." To live the worthy walk is to bring both of those things together into a Christ-like lifestyle. A Christian is recognized by two things--bearing spiritual fruit and by growing in his or her spiritual relationship to God and man.

In Colossians 1:11 Paul prays for us to have spiritual power, according to God’s holy might. Notice it says, "being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that we might have great endurance and patience." This is our third evidence of a worthy walk. "Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy." Does that mean I am omnipotent? No way. Can I name it and claim it? I do not think God is my personal errand boy. But it does mean that I can have all the power and grace of God I will ever need when suffering stress and hard times. I can know with Paul that God’s grace will be sufficient for me. His strength will provide endurance and patience.

The fourth evidence of a worthy walk is given to us in verse 12: "Joyfully giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." Is it easy to have joy in tough situations? I do not think so. Is it possible? God says, "Yes." "By God’s grace, he has qualified us." I love that word "qualified." I stand redeemed. I have been qualified by something that has been given to me and I qualify to share in the eternal inheritance of all who place their lives and trust in Jesus Christ.

What is the last word for Christians then? Is it defeat? Is it fear? Is it discouragement? No, we have been delivered. He has rescued us, delivered us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His dear Son. Paul’s prayer is promising us that we do not live under the dominion of darkness anymore. We were there but we are not there any longer. Do not go back there. We can soar. Sin no longer rules and Satan cannot make me do anything I do not choose to do. Not one thing! And with that blessed assurance, I think we should just go to Christ. Live each day in the knowledge that our lives are in our Lord’s hands, that He cares for you and me more than we care for ourselves. He delights in me when I walk in the way that pleases Him, when my words and my works are bearing fruit for Him, when I am growing in my relationship to Him, and when I praise and give thanksgiving for what He has done for me.

Copyright by Pastor Al Bishop