How the Church is Like a Piece of Knitting

Mike Hosey, An Elder

When you look at a blanket, or a garment, or some other creation that has been made by knitting, you will notice something profound.

In the simplest pieces, a single strand of yarn interlocks with itself to create wide swaths of fabric.  In more complex pieces, multiple strands of yarn are interlocked together to create unified wholes. This interlocking pattern is very important.  It allows the garment or cloth to be strong, to hold together, and to function correctly. It creates both beauty and utility.  However, if when being knitted together, something was done wrong, or if one of the “interlocks” comes undone, the whole garment can begin to unravel. This can leave the cloth with gaping holes. It becomes unsightly, and may even cease to function effectively for its intended purpose. But when done correctly, multiple strands of yarn, and even multiple separate pieces of knitting can be united in a single, useful, and beautiful tapestry that is resistant to unraveling.

Paul envisioned such a tapestry for the church at Colossae, as well as all Christian churches throughout history. He writes that he wants them to be knit together in love so that they can come to know and understand the mystery of God, which is found in Christ (Colossians 2:2). In other words, he wanted every believer at Colossae to be interlocked with every other believer at Colossae.  He wanted that interlocking to be something he called love. There are many words in Greek for love, but the word that Paul uses for “love” in that verse is the Greek word “agape.”  This isn’t a word that is based on transient feelings.  Instead, it’s a word that is based on faithfulness and commitment to the well being of others, good will and choice. It is the kind of love that God has for his people. He loved us to the point of willful death.

Paul seemed to understand that if each of us is interlocked with our fellow Christian brothers and sisters in a true commitment to the well being of those brothers and sisters, that our churches would better comprehend God’s mystery - his love that is modeled by Jesus.

How Sincerely Do You Believe God?

Mike Hosey, An Elder

Paul, the New Testament Apostle, gets right to the point about what the gospel does when he writes to the church at Colossae. In Colossians 1:3-5, he affirms their faith, and their love of other people.  But he says something curious after that affirmation.  He argues that their faith, and their love of others comes from a confident expectation of a future reward in Heaven.  In other words, he points out that what they believe about the future was having an impact on what they were doing at the moment he wrote the letter. He goes on to point out how this gospel was not only producing fruit in them, but all over the whole world as well (Colossians 1:6).  He explains that the gospel was producing fruit for them because they understood the grace that had been afforded to them. Paul makes two points here.  The first is that a belief about the future motivated their behavior, and the second, is that an understanding of the past was producing fruit.  The Colossians understood that God had given them a gift they didn’t deserve out of a love and commitment he had for them that they didn’t deserve, and this understanding was changing and shaping them in profound ways. 

As he continues, he tells them that he is praying that God will give them spiritual wisdom and knowledge so that they will produce even more fruit, and please the Lord with their lives (Colossians 1:9-10). He then makes – perhaps – the strongest statement of this section of his letter.  He prays that by bearing every good fruit, and living a worthy life, they will grow in the knowledge of God. 

As you read Paul’s opening remarks to the Colossians, ask yourself what it is that you believe about God and his plan.  Do you believe that there is a future reward for your work on earth?  Do you believe that God has rescued you from the horrors of hell, the horrors of your sins, or the horrors of your own anxieties and shortcomings?  If you truly believe those things, take the time to prayerfully ask some additional questions:  What am I doing to love others?  What am I doing to serve others? What am I doing to serve God?  How am I growing in the knowledge of God?  Has my spiritual wisdom expanded? What fruit do I see in my life?  The answers to the second set of questions may tell you something about the truth of the answers you gave to the first set of questions.

Dear God

Mike Hosey, An Elder

Dear God -

Thank you for providing us fathers.  Thank you for those fathers who have sacrificed their time and their own desires so that their wives and their children can both be loved as well as feel loved. Thank you for the fathers who have provided. Thank you for the fathers who have stayed through difficulty and darkness..  Thank you for the fathers who have brought life.  Thank you for those fathers who have brought discipline, instruction, and guidance with a spirit of firmness, kindness, and love. Thank you for the fathers who lift up mothers, and that support them and help them. Thank you God for the fathers who have worshiped in spirit and in truth. Thank you for those fathers who have modeled Jesus, followed him, and led their families to him.

Lord, I pray that you shine before all fathers so that they cannot ignore you.  For those who know you already,  I ask that you shine in such a way that their families can see you in them.  And for those who don’t know you, I ask that you shine in such a way that the path to your forgiveness and acceptance is clear, undeniable, and unmistakable so that all other paths before them are dimmed in comparison to yours.

Lord I ask that you bless fathers with the strength to live out their roles with enthusiasm.  I ask that you bless them with the wisdom to discern your will.  I ask that you bless them with others who can be entwined in their lives so much so that their strength, resolve, direction and spirit is multiplied many times by the power you place individually in the lives of them all. I ask that you forge Godly friendships and Godly alliances in those who are fathers.  God, I ask that you bring purpose, and guide them to lead their families.  Most of all, Lord, I ask that you help them to follow the example of your son in every domain of their lives.

I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

What Do You Believe About God?

Mike Hosey, An Elder

One thing you may have heard me preach from the pulpit and elsewhere is that faith produces behavioral results.  In other words, what we believe affects everything we do. If you believe that your car is not safe, you  likely won’t drive it anywhere. If you believe your car is perfectly safe and will magically transport you to a mountain of riches once you hit 95 miles per hour, you’ll likely be trying to find a long, flat stretch of road pretty quick. In fact, every single thing that we do is anchored to some kind of belief. It is because of this that theological questions are the most important, and probably the most powerful.  What we believe about God (or what we don’t believe about God) has the power to govern all other beliefs we hold, and therefore, influence all of our behaviors, and even emotions. This is why Paul firmly teaches us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2).

Struggling to answer theological questions is essential to healthy Christian growth.  Of course, there’s a risk that you may arrive at the wrong answers, but if you skip the struggle you miss out on maturity.  Ponder how much power theological beliefs have over us by considering this question which was recently asked by one of our youth: “If God is past, present and future then he would know your decisions, so technically he should know where you are going, so what’s the point of us living here on earth to suffer?” Not answering this question properly leads to a belief that either God is pointless, or that life is pointless.  Both of those beliefs will produce dangerous behaviors, and very possibly a life of misery. The question is probably impossible to answer fully with finite human minds, but we can at least approximate a reasonable one. First, let’s look at a problem within the question itself. Just because we know something is going to happen doesn’t mean that we can’t derive good, or enjoyment from it.  For instance, I know how my children are going to respond to a variety of morally ambiguous situations.  Just because I know ahead of time how they will behave doesn’t mean that I am not either pleased or disappointed when they do the right or wrong thing. Now let’s look at a second perspective regarding the question.  We were made for God’s pleasure (Colossians 1:16, Revelation 4:11) and for his glory (Isaiah 43:7). Since we are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), it is safe to assume that he, too, experiences pleasure when he sees us make right decisions,or feels displeasure when we make wrong ones, or feels pleased when he sees us follow him.  And he is definitely glorified when we do the right thing, especially when it’s sacrificially hard to do.  This holds true even if he knows the outcome ahead of time, because Satan doesn’t know the outcomes, and neither do most men. Finally, he created us to have relationship with him (Leviticus 26:11-12, Deuteronomy 6:5) and to do good works (Matthew 22:39, Ephesians 2:10). Neither our good works, nor our love for God are diminished by his knowing what happens ahead of time. Seeing God from this perspective can give us joy, rather than misery.