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Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Colossians 2:6-7(ESV)

When we received Jesus Christ as the Lord of our lives, He made available to us much more than mere salvation. And yet, salvation and forgiveness are the primary benefits most Christians attribute to their faith in Christ. That’s understandable, since all of us want to know  we are saved and forgiven. But this passage of scripture suggests we are to do more than just rest on our laurels and await the return of Christ.

We are told in Colossians 2:6: Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. What does that mean? It means that when we invited Jesus Christ to be Lord of our lives, He not only gave us forgiveness and salvation, He also gave us Himself in the person of the Holy Spirit. He put His divine presence within us so we could walk out the lives He’s called each of us to live. He gave us His Spirit so we could hear His voice, experience His love, walk in His peace and joy, and carry on the very same work He did when He walked this earth. While it is wonderful to know we are saved and forgiven, that knowledge will do little to help us walk out our faith. Leaning on the Holy Spirit, or walking in Christ as this passage puts it, allows us to walk out our faith in His power instead of our own.

Colossians 2:7 goes on to say: rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. What does it mean to be rooted in Christ? It means we live our lives connected to Him. It means we recognize Him as the true vine and we see ourselves as the branches. It means we recognize that in Christ, we can do all things, and apart from Him we can do nothing.

What does it mean to be built up in him? It means that we recognize our connection with Jesus is life-giving and life changing. Just as a branch connected to the vine receives vital nutrients and moisture from the vine so the branch can produce fruit, so too, we receive the fruit of the Spirit, guidance, wisdom, and encouragement from our dependence on Jesus so we can produce fruit that lasts. He tells us we can, when the world tells us we can’t. He gives us the discernment to know when and how to approach people so we can tell them about Jesus. He enables us to remember where we were and how we lived before Jesus got a hold of us, so we can be humble and put others above ourselves.

Paul also tells us we are to be established in the faith. What does that mean? I think that means that we don’t just have faith, our faith has us! In other words, our faith shapes the way we look at ourselves, God, and the world around us. Our faith isn’t just something we practice on Sunday mornings and holy days. Our faith is an everyday part of our life. It shapes the way we look at every moment of every day. 

Paul tells us we are to do these things as we were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. If we’ve been paying attention to what God’s Word says, none of Paul’s instructions should surprise us. We should realize that just as it says in James 2:17: So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. In other words, if we claim to have faith in Christ, it ought to show in the way we live out our day-to-day lives. It ought to show in our speech, in our actions, and in our attitudes. And it should show in our gratefulness and appreciation of all Christ has done for us. Let’s make 2026, the year we walk out our faith in Christ by staying connected to Him.

Love in Christ,

Pastor Dave