so we're a bit behind on reading, and i may have been ambitious about scripture memory, but take a few moments to read colossians 1 before proceeding.
here's a few things i noticed. i like bullet points.
• the faith of the church is famous because it bears fruit
• the faith of the church is derived from hope in the future
• because the church is doing well, paul continues to pray for them
• v10-12 tells us how to please God
• the matchless supremacy of Jesus the Son
• the fullness of God dwells in Christ
• reconciliation and redemption happen through Christ
• the full word of God = Christ in you, the hope of glory
re: ACF, our efforts must draw inspiration from that idea-- Christ in us, the hope of glory. our decisions and actions in life are no longer determined by the past, but rather by our future. how will we let our future shape and realize our present?
thoughts?
6 comments:
i believe part of letting acf's future shape the present is basically setting a goal and try to achieve it.
firstly, we should know/identify a Christ-given vision/objective for the future (i.e, build stronger friendship within acf), then be aware of where acf stands at the moment (maybe there are cliques or members that don't feel comfortable at acf). then obviously, we try to accomplish the goal [in the present].
i tried to throw in examples so it wouldn't be too hard to follow. maybe it backfired? eh, regardless, i hope you guys got the gist of what i'm saying.
anyways, there's so much to say about colossians 1! the gospel message, the messages of hope, the purpose of the church, accountability in prayer, fruit-bearing faith, etc. personally though, i was mostly encouraged because of v. 17. it's just having the reassurance that Jesus was/is/and will be in control. always. that gives me amazing peace of mind but at the same time, it troubles a lot. only because i know i won't initially like some of the things that Jesus will call me to do. and it's scary too. medical school? not my decision nor the admissions board. i guess i'm trying to say is that no matter the circumstances, would i be able to follow Jesus through it? i really hope so. but i'm also aware that it will put me through some rough times.
haha, i think i'm semi-rambling. i just finished a diag (i got my highest score ever!) and my brain is fried :[ anyways, the library is closing soon so i shall end it with one last comment
everytime i read colossians 1, i'm always so impressed with paul calling Jesus and the cross (and everything associated with it) a "mystery". it's such COOL terminology!! go paul!! ...or God through paul.
later.
when i read "Christ in you, the hope of glory" you could cue the music in my head, some gladiator-esque soundtrack piece. it was quite inspirational.
Well, I do also believe Jesus will use ACF to expand the views of many people, not just Asians. I talked to someone about this, but first we need to focus on one particular vision, or where we stand. What is God's plan for ACF? PLEASE PRAY ABOUT THIS DURING THE NEXT WEEK and maybe we can set a deadline?
oops and i forgot to talk about colossians...well, you mentioned about the present. What are we (as ACFers) doing right now? Basically what Im trying to say is what we do now, will shape our future...so I believe we need to get on the ball with this year's vision...
a couple things that stuck out to me from colossians 1:
-emphasis of God as Father
-from v. 5-6 and v. 23 a sense that the Gospel is something that has "come to us"--that we acknowledge first what it is we are recipients as we turn to others and share with them
-emphasis on Jesus as God incarnate
-Jesus as the "earthly" representation of God--his love, holiness, obedience, etc., so that people of that day could understand and be able to relate. so in continuing the parallel that Christ is the head and we, the church, are the body, the church's purpose it seems would be to manifest characteristics of God to the world--so that people could come to understand and see glimpses of forgiveness, kindness, etc., and relate via that. that makes the church so much more outward focused than i typically imagine (i.e. inward focused churches or fellowships intent on self-growth). the image of a body massaging its own arm or (forgive me) patting its own back seems ridiculous now, doesn't it?
-power comes from Jesus, according to v. 11 and 29. i need to have this pounded into my brain constantly--i can be very dense at times--that our leading/serving acf must originate from God's power. asking him to work in and through us, relinquishing it to him, wanting it to be completely his, acknowledging that he has begun all the work already.
in reference to the question (which i forgot/avoided adressing b/c it's hard in my first comment= ), i kept coming back to v. 4-6: "...your faith in Christ Jesus and the love you have for all the saints--the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you."
sometimes i'm afraid to scratch the surface of these things, let alone delve into them. i dunno, weird i guess. anyway, i thought about the "future" in two ways--1.) hearing the Gospel, being saved and looking forward to eternity with God, and 2.) hearing the Gospel, being saved, and living fully/victoriously/in freedom now.
i hardly believe that we're trying to propose some type of "you'll-get-your-reward-in-heaven-just-wait-til-then" type idea, but i get the sense that there should be some notion of perspective on things--on our lives in the grander scheme of things. that life is significant, indeed, but that eternity with Jesus, is, well, Eternity. what is our understanding of eternity, beyond each individual notion of "forever"? i ask myself, is that my hope? and do i somehow let that motivate my actions of faith and love or do i somehow pervert that into a laziness and self-contented selfishness that paralyzes me into inaction?
i think that part of crafting our vision and our self-understanding requires stepping back and trying to take in as much as possible. but, i understand that it's hard, since we are a asian college fellowship and already have such defining paramaters. but at the same time, i think we can maybe rethink parts of that, so that acf, yes, meets the needs of college asians, but also doesn't lose ourself in that (college, asian). maybe that's fighting against our own identity, but i'd like to try to look at people, our fellowship, our spirituality, more holistically than we have in the past. that part about "hope stored up in heaven" got me thinking about that.
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