Colossians 1:3-5a

The fact that Paul and Timothy have never been to Colossae and did not plant the church there but still hear of their faith and love is a testimony to how living out our lives in Christ is a witness to others. I want this to apply to me. I want people who have never met me to have heard about my faith in Christ and my love for people. Furthermore, I want students at Western to know the leaders in our ministry have a deep faith in Christ and love for others. I want the churches that I am involved in to be such a beacon for God that people who have never been inside will still have heard of the church’s deep faith in Christ and love for other people. O’ God if we as a ministry, a church, and I as an individual could be characterized and known for my faith and love in you like this.
The word here for love in Greek is “agape.” This is a self-sacrificing love. It is a love that is used to describe God’s love for us and it is set apart from brotherly love, and romantic love. Do I love others enough to sacrifice my time and my agenda to serve them? What does this require? It requires loving others more than me. It requires seeking opportunities to serve and help others before pushing my agenda.
This type of love and faith is rooted in a hope for heaven. I believe for their faith and love to be heard by Paul it had to be very distinguishable from that displayed by the lives of other people. The Colossians had their hope set in heaven. They longed for it. Why? Not many people long for heaven today, what made them long for it and hope in it? It must be a deep longing and love for Christ. This is the gift of heaven, in it we have an intimate unhindered relationship with God that will thrill us. But to those who do not love or trust in Christ this is no gift. This is boring, dull, this is no heaven. Heaven is full of fun things to do, all the best food, health, peace, beauty. But really, these things would be no heaven at all if Christ was not participating in them. So then there is the view of heaven rooted in humanism (happiness of humanity is the goal) and the view of heaven rooted in Christ (glory of God is the goal). The Colossians’ view of heaven was rooted in Christ and it changed the way they trusted him and loved others. It was refreshingly different and Paul knew it. Paul was grateful for God because of it.
J.C. Ryle preached a sermon from Colossians 3:11 titled “Christ Is All.” In it he spoke of how Christ is the supreme pleasure of heaven and lamented about many people’s misunderstanding of heaven. This quote from that sermon reminds me of this passage.
“But alas, how little fit for heaven are many who talk of ‘going to heaven’ when they die, while they manifestly have no saving faith, and no real acquaintance with Christ. You give Christ no honor here. You have no communion with Him. You do not love Him. Alas! What could you do in heaven? It would be no place for you. Its joys would be no joys for you. Its happiness would be a happiness into which you could not enter. Its employments would be a weariness and burden to your heart.”

The Colossians hoped in heaven because they loved Christ and had a real communion with him on earth. They longed and hoped for the deeper communion they would have with Christ in heaven. What is our view of Heaven? Do we treasure Christ as the Colossians? Trusting him and loving others?
John Piper in his book “God is the Gospel” asks this question of us,
“The critical question for our generation…is this: If you could have heaven , with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and not human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?” pg.15