“And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.”
Jesus is involved in every part of the Christian’s life. Without Him there would be no Christian life. Colossians 3:17 reveals His all-inclusiveness in our lives. Whatever we do is to be done In the name of Jesus. Not in the name of our church, denomination or ourselves but in the name of Jesus. All of our work in the church and in all other facets of life should be “Jesus work.” “Whatever” means all. I want to share some observations on Colossians 1:17. Everything that we do should be worthy of the name of Jesus. Someone might say, “But I could never have fun.” Whoever says this has been terribly misinformed and has no idea what the life of a Christian is like. Jesus was present at festive occasions, which reveals that Jesus was not against “having fun.” Why do we equate fun with sin? The point of our lives is to bring glory to Jesus. In John 17:10, Jesus said: “All I have is yours, and all you have is mine, and glory has come to Me through them." If we do not serve in Jesus’ name, we will not bring glory to His name. I have discovered that there is a great deal of joy in that kind of service and, I might add, a lot of good, clean fun. There are some specific ways to do “all in the name of Jesus.” Let me give you some examples. First, we can accomplish this by what we say: “in word.” Words used to profane God’s holy name will not do it. Words used to belittle people will not do it. In Matthew 12:36, Jesus said: “But I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the Day of Judgment." Second, we accomplish this by what we do: “in deed.” We will also be held accountable for what we do. What we do reflects who and what we are and to whom we belong. We are God’s people – Christians. Our works should reflect that. Jesus said in Matthew 5:16: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven.” Third, we accomplish this by being thankful: “Giving thanks to God and the Father by Him." Nothing can enhance the name of Jesus like thankfulness. Look at what thankfulness can accomplish: (1) Thankfulness erases bitterness. (2) Thankfulness causes rejoicing. (3) Thankfulness results in kindness. (4) Thankfulness enhances compassion. (5) Thankfulness calls out the best in us. (6) Thankfulness reveals “Christ in us, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27) Notice that we thank God by and through Jesus. It is Jesus, in whose name we do all things, who makes us thankful. If you will stop and think about all that Jesus has done for you, you will be thankful. If you can’t recall that He has done anything for you, you need a spiritual checkup. It is safe to assume that if we apply Colossians 3:17, we will live in the name of Jesus. We are going to live in the name of something, why not Jesus? That is definitely not too much to ask in the light of all that He has done for us. He died as a sacrifice for our sins. He arose from the grave, and promised to be with us throughout the ages. When we came to Jesus by faith, He saved us. Jesus gave us His Holy Spirit to indwell us and fill us. He has promised to come again to receive us unto Himself. Why shouldn’t we do all in the name of Jesus? Will we do this perfectly? Probably not, but it sure won’t hurt to give it a try. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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