Lessons from Colossians: Live with Purpose
Making the Most of Every Opportunity: How God Calls Us to Live With Purpose
It's easy to drift through life, staying busy, building security, and maintaining appearances, only to look back and realize we missed the point entirely. A man once whispered from his hospice bed that he had spent his whole life building a stage but never got around to playing the music. That image is a sobering reminder that time, once gone, cannot be recovered.
So the question worth wrestling with is this: What are you investing your time in?
Why Are We Called to Live Intentional Lives?
As followers of Christ, we are not called to drift. We are not called to build our own kingdoms or simply go through the motions of faith. We are called to walk with Christ, pursue His will, and make our lives count for the Kingdom of God.
The more fully we understand who Christ is, the more clearly we understand how He has called us to live. As we set our minds on the Kingdom of God, His character becomes more evident in our lives and His love begins to flow outward. That love cannot be contained within the walls of a church. It needs to reach beyond the people sitting next to us on Sunday and penetrate a world that has been corrupted by sin and desperately needs the love of Christ.
What Does Real Love Look Like in Action?
This is not a transactional love that only reaches people who can give something back. It is a love that reaches the unlovable. It serves. It sacrifices. It forgives. It keeps showing up.
As Paul writes in Romans, "God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8 English Standard Version (ESV)
We are only able to give this kind of love to a broken world because He first loved us. It is from that place of having received love that we are called to make the most of every opportunity.
Does Ministry Only Happen Inside the Church?
One of the most common misconceptions in the Christian life is that ministry happens only within the walls of a church building. But some of the most powerful moments of Kingdom impact happen at a McDonald's, in an airport, or in a conversation with a coworker who is quietly falling apart.
We cannot expect the Kingdom of God to break into our cities if it is only happening on Sunday mornings. We are called to be missional in every area of life, not just for an hour on the weekend.
Paul writes in Colossians 4:5, "Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time."
What Happens When the Church Becomes More About the Brand Than the Kingdom?
There is a real danger when churches begin replacing shepherds with CEOs. Shepherds smell like the sheep. CEOs lead from a distance.
When the brand becomes the idol, Jesus gets reduced to a means of elevating a platform. Green rooms get built. People become inaccessible. And the byproduct is that we become so busy running the business of the church that we miss one-on-one encounters with people who desperately need hope.
Jesus never got caught up in the thrill of the crowd to the point that He missed the one lost sheep. He stopped for lepers. He sat with a woman at a well who had been rejected by everyone around her. He welcomed children who could not support Him financially. That is what the love of Jesus looks like in practice.
How Does Prayer Help Us Make the Most of Every Opportunity?
Paul opens this passage with a clear instruction. "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." - Colossians 4:2
To make the most of every opportunity, we need to pray with an alert mind and a thankful heart. We miss opportunities because our prayer life has become a mindless ritual rather than an intentional conversation with the God of heaven and earth.
Prayer is not just about stepping back and waiting for God to do everything. Sometimes He wants us to march around the city before He knocks down the walls. Faith without action is dead. Prayer should move us toward readiness, not passivity.
What Does It Mean to Be Prepared for Open Doors?
Paul continues in Colossians 4:3-4, "Pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison, that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak."
Only God can open the right doors. But when He does, believers need to be ready to walk through them. Too many people pray for an open door but are not prepared to remain in the room once they enter it.
Seasons of obscurity are not a curse. Moses was in the wilderness when God was building Him into a leader who would stand before Pharaoh. David was in the wilderness when God was developing the heart of a warrior. Those quiet, hidden seasons can be the very seasons God uses to prepare you for what comes next.
Do not waste your time in the wilderness complaining. Spend it being developed.
Why Is It Important to Speak the Gospel Clearly and Without Compromise?
When we water down the Gospel, it loses its power. There can be pressure not to offend people, so we speak with confusion instead of clarity. But Jesus does not need us to be His ghostwriter. He does not need us to spin His message to make it sound more relevant. He needs us to be vessels who proclaim it plainly.
The Gospel is not our message to spin. It is His message to proclaim. Our focus cannot be on ourselves. It has to be on Him and His Kingdom.
How Should We Speak to People Outside the Faith?
Paul gives a clear standard in Colossians 4:6. "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person."
The New Living Translation phrases it this way: let your conversation be gracious and attractive. The message of the church has too often become more about what we are against than what we are for. Yes, we are called to speak truth. Yes, we are called to address sin. But the goal is not to prove that we are right and others are wrong. The goal is to point people toward the freedom that is found in Christ.
Walking in wisdom means our conversations draw people in rather than push them away.
Does Every Believer Have a Role in the Kingdom?
At the close of his letter to the Colossians, Paul names ten different people, each with different backgrounds, different gifts, and different roles, all serving the purpose of the Kingdom of God. The early church was not a one-person show. It was not personality driven. It was Kingdom driven.
Each member made the most of every opportunity because they understood they were not called to be spectators. They were called to be participants. And so are we.
What Can We Learn From Paul Writing in Chains?
Paul closes his letter with a striking phrase: "Remember my chains." He was in prison when he wrote this. He did not know if the door would open to release him or to execute him. And yet he did not allow his circumstances to derail him from the mission God had placed on His life.
You may not be able to change your circumstances, but you can change how you see them. Some of the most painful seasons of life are the very seasons that produce the most fruit. Sometimes things need to die before there can be life.
Paul had no idea that the letter he wrote from a prison cell would still be bringing life to the church two thousand years later. Do not underestimate what God can do through your most difficult season.
Life Application
This week, choose one specific area of your daily life, your workplace, your neighborhood, your home, and commit to showing up there with intentionality and purpose. Look for the one person God may have placed in your path who needs the love of Jesus. It does not require a program or a platform. It may simply require a conversation, a meal, or a moment of genuine presence.
Before you go, ask yourself these questions:
Your life is not meaningless. It has purpose. Submit it to Jesus and fulfill the will He has for you.
It's easy to drift through life, staying busy, building security, and maintaining appearances, only to look back and realize we missed the point entirely. A man once whispered from his hospice bed that he had spent his whole life building a stage but never got around to playing the music. That image is a sobering reminder that time, once gone, cannot be recovered.
So the question worth wrestling with is this: What are you investing your time in?
Why Are We Called to Live Intentional Lives?
As followers of Christ, we are not called to drift. We are not called to build our own kingdoms or simply go through the motions of faith. We are called to walk with Christ, pursue His will, and make our lives count for the Kingdom of God.
The more fully we understand who Christ is, the more clearly we understand how He has called us to live. As we set our minds on the Kingdom of God, His character becomes more evident in our lives and His love begins to flow outward. That love cannot be contained within the walls of a church. It needs to reach beyond the people sitting next to us on Sunday and penetrate a world that has been corrupted by sin and desperately needs the love of Christ.
What Does Real Love Look Like in Action?
This is not a transactional love that only reaches people who can give something back. It is a love that reaches the unlovable. It serves. It sacrifices. It forgives. It keeps showing up.
As Paul writes in Romans, "God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8 English Standard Version (ESV)
We are only able to give this kind of love to a broken world because He first loved us. It is from that place of having received love that we are called to make the most of every opportunity.
Does Ministry Only Happen Inside the Church?
One of the most common misconceptions in the Christian life is that ministry happens only within the walls of a church building. But some of the most powerful moments of Kingdom impact happen at a McDonald's, in an airport, or in a conversation with a coworker who is quietly falling apart.
We cannot expect the Kingdom of God to break into our cities if it is only happening on Sunday mornings. We are called to be missional in every area of life, not just for an hour on the weekend.
Paul writes in Colossians 4:5, "Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time."
What Happens When the Church Becomes More About the Brand Than the Kingdom?
There is a real danger when churches begin replacing shepherds with CEOs. Shepherds smell like the sheep. CEOs lead from a distance.
When the brand becomes the idol, Jesus gets reduced to a means of elevating a platform. Green rooms get built. People become inaccessible. And the byproduct is that we become so busy running the business of the church that we miss one-on-one encounters with people who desperately need hope.
Jesus never got caught up in the thrill of the crowd to the point that He missed the one lost sheep. He stopped for lepers. He sat with a woman at a well who had been rejected by everyone around her. He welcomed children who could not support Him financially. That is what the love of Jesus looks like in practice.
How Does Prayer Help Us Make the Most of Every Opportunity?
Paul opens this passage with a clear instruction. "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." - Colossians 4:2
To make the most of every opportunity, we need to pray with an alert mind and a thankful heart. We miss opportunities because our prayer life has become a mindless ritual rather than an intentional conversation with the God of heaven and earth.
Prayer is not just about stepping back and waiting for God to do everything. Sometimes He wants us to march around the city before He knocks down the walls. Faith without action is dead. Prayer should move us toward readiness, not passivity.
What Does It Mean to Be Prepared for Open Doors?
Paul continues in Colossians 4:3-4, "Pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison, that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak."
Only God can open the right doors. But when He does, believers need to be ready to walk through them. Too many people pray for an open door but are not prepared to remain in the room once they enter it.
Seasons of obscurity are not a curse. Moses was in the wilderness when God was building Him into a leader who would stand before Pharaoh. David was in the wilderness when God was developing the heart of a warrior. Those quiet, hidden seasons can be the very seasons God uses to prepare you for what comes next.
Do not waste your time in the wilderness complaining. Spend it being developed.
Why Is It Important to Speak the Gospel Clearly and Without Compromise?
When we water down the Gospel, it loses its power. There can be pressure not to offend people, so we speak with confusion instead of clarity. But Jesus does not need us to be His ghostwriter. He does not need us to spin His message to make it sound more relevant. He needs us to be vessels who proclaim it plainly.
The Gospel is not our message to spin. It is His message to proclaim. Our focus cannot be on ourselves. It has to be on Him and His Kingdom.
How Should We Speak to People Outside the Faith?
Paul gives a clear standard in Colossians 4:6. "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person."
The New Living Translation phrases it this way: let your conversation be gracious and attractive. The message of the church has too often become more about what we are against than what we are for. Yes, we are called to speak truth. Yes, we are called to address sin. But the goal is not to prove that we are right and others are wrong. The goal is to point people toward the freedom that is found in Christ.
Walking in wisdom means our conversations draw people in rather than push them away.
Does Every Believer Have a Role in the Kingdom?
At the close of his letter to the Colossians, Paul names ten different people, each with different backgrounds, different gifts, and different roles, all serving the purpose of the Kingdom of God. The early church was not a one-person show. It was not personality driven. It was Kingdom driven.
Each member made the most of every opportunity because they understood they were not called to be spectators. They were called to be participants. And so are we.
What Can We Learn From Paul Writing in Chains?
Paul closes his letter with a striking phrase: "Remember my chains." He was in prison when he wrote this. He did not know if the door would open to release him or to execute him. And yet he did not allow his circumstances to derail him from the mission God had placed on His life.
You may not be able to change your circumstances, but you can change how you see them. Some of the most painful seasons of life are the very seasons that produce the most fruit. Sometimes things need to die before there can be life.
Paul had no idea that the letter he wrote from a prison cell would still be bringing life to the church two thousand years later. Do not underestimate what God can do through your most difficult season.
Life Application
This week, choose one specific area of your daily life, your workplace, your neighborhood, your home, and commit to showing up there with intentionality and purpose. Look for the one person God may have placed in your path who needs the love of Jesus. It does not require a program or a platform. It may simply require a conversation, a meal, or a moment of genuine presence.
Before you go, ask yourself these questions:
- Am I investing my time in things that matter for eternity, or am I wasting my life building my own kingdom that will not last?
- Is my prayer life alert and intentional, or has it become a mindless routine?
- Am I prepared for the doors God may be opening, or would I enter the room but not be able to stay?
- Are my conversations about faith gracious and attractive, or do they push people further away from Jesus?
- Where has God placed me right now, and am I making the most of that opportunity?
Your life is not meaningless. It has purpose. Submit it to Jesus and fulfill the will He has for you.
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