Deeply Rooted

Colossians Chapter 2

Scripture:
My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. (Col. 2:6-7 Message Version; a paraphrase on thought for thought by one man, Eugene Peterson.)

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Col. 2:6-7 New International Version; a dynamic equivalent that balances between a word for word and thought for thought translation.)

Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. (Col. 2:6-7 New American Standard Bible; equivalent of a word for word translation. )

Reflection:
I selected these two verses in three different versions to illustrate the nuances of translation. Here's something I noticed: because God is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient, it means that you have access, (through the Holy Spirit) to tap into a person who can help you all the time, every where, and with all power at his disposal.

What's more, because He is the Great I Am (a name he calls himself), it means that he is able to meet all of us throughout history at every persons point of need, simultaneously, with power. The profound change that happened in us at the moment of our "being rooted", continues to work itself out in us through the "building up" or "establishing" of our faith.

It's a progressive process that is lived out in our ordinary coming and going of life.

Prayer:
Lord, I spill over with thankfulness that you not only saved me and rooted me in you, but that you CONTINUE to build me up. Our relationship is a living thing. Thank you that you never leave me alone, but support me through that root system, to thrive and bear fruit. Amen!