I remember the first time I taught through Colossians. The senior pastor was on vacation and I had enough weeks to teach through a whole book, cover to cover. We talked about options and landed on Colossians. By that time I had taught and preached regularly, but I was so excited that this was going to be the first book that I would teach cover to cover at the church.
Why did we choose Colossians? For the main theme. It’s a book all about Jesus. It’s a book that shows Jesus to be supreme and sufficient.
It seems that the faith of those in Colosse – probably the least important city to which Paul sent a letter – was being corrupted by the ways of the world and the current culture. To counter that and to refute the false teaching in their midst, Paul wrote a relatively short but powerful letter to a church he had never visited and that he didn’t start giving them a better understanding of Jesus. A prosperous place where people earned a comfortable living, its inhabitants were being bombarded with religious choices and worldview options. The antidote to this melting pot of vast and varied views: a strong and robust understanding of Jesus.
For you and for me now, living in Bahrain in 2023, the message of Colossians is still very much needed. We live in a prosperous part of the world where people come to make a comfortable living. We live in a culturally-rich and diverse place where contrasting worldviews can be found easily. Colossians helps us to find that balance between living in the culture here-and-now whilst also remembering that our true citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3.20), and accepting and actioning that when we put our faith in Jesus and become born again, nothing in our lives is left untouched by this influence (Colossians 2.6-7).
Walking through Colossians is sure to strengthen our knowledge of the Lord and our outworking of His grace (2 Peter 3.18) and I hope you will join me day by day.
James Travis 