Read: Colossians 1:3-8
Indeed in the whole world [the gospel] is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you. (v. 6)
Yesterday we noted how our Christian lives are rooted in the gospel. Paul continued to reflect on that gospel in today’s reading. First, he noted with wonder how this message was making an impact on the entire world. It kept bearing fruit! It kept increasing!
I wonder if we can appreciate how amazing that was. After all, the whole thing began with just 11 disciples, most of whom were confused after Jesus ascended into heaven. Yet Jesus told them to start to spread out and, as they did, to tell his story. To put it mildly, the odds were long that those 11 fellows would ever make much of an impact.
But they did. Not only did their message begin to move out into the wider world, it began to change that world. Every corner of it before too long. It spread even farther than they ever imagined it would. It went beyond Jerusalem. It went beyond Judea and Samaria. It swept up the entire Greco-Roman world.
But notice one other little detail: the Colossians first heard of it through Epaphras. We don’t know much about Epaphras. He was just a faithful believer. Like you. Like me. But he was God’s agent to bring the gospel to Colossae. And if his witness could do that, then our witness today can work similar wonders. Are we telling the gospel? —Scott Hoezee
As you pray, ask God’s Spirit to make you a bearer of the gospel to spread the Good News to all.
About the Author
Scott Hoezee is an ordained pastor in the Christian Reformed Church of North America. He served two Michigan congregations from 1990-2005 and since 2005 has been a faculty member at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he serves chiefly as the Director of The Center for Excellence in Preaching. He is the author of several books, including most recently Why We Listen to Sermons (Calvin Press 2019) and is the co-host of the “Groundwork” radio program.
