Colossians 3:18 (2)

Intro

We ought to always work like we work for God

Paul is going to give more specific instructions for what our lives should look like when we put off the old and put on the new.

Wives- Submit to your husbands, for this is a beautiful picture of our relationship with Jesus

Husbands, love your wives and be kind to them, for this is also a beautiful picture of our relationship with Jesus

None of you or husbands or wives, but many of you will be, and it is important that we see what Paul is saying here about that relationship pleasing the Lord.

Children- (and all of you are children)- obey your parents in EVERYTHING, for this is pleasing to the Lord.

Paul doesn’t want you just obeying your parents when you agree, or when you feel like its fair, or when it is convenient, but always and in everything that they tell you.

Bondservants- (this can be thought of as an employee)- work honestly for your employers, as though your boss was actually God

This is getting at the heart of what this whole passage is about, and I think this about sums up what Paul is saying to all of these categories of people.

Let me ask you this: is a wife has a bad husband, should she still be a good wife? If a husband has a bad wife, should he still be a good husband? If children have bad parents, should they still listen and obey? If an employee has a bad boss, should they still work hard?

The answer is yes, for this reason: we are primarily living our lives not to earn something from other people or to make other people like us, but we are primarily doing anything that we do because we love the Lord and are looking to honor him.

We can because God is the one who pays us

Think about it like this: imagine your best friend in the world asked you to do a favor for them; they need you to take care of their dog for a day. You need to feed it, let it out, play with it, take it on walks, etc. The only problem is that they let you know that their dog is a jerk. Their dog doesn’t like strangers, pulls on the leash, tracks mud through the house, and doesn’t listen to you at all. But you love your friend and you’d do anything for them.

So when you are taking care of the dog, would you do a good job or a bad job? Would you still feed the dog, let the dog out, take the dog on walks, clean up after it? Of course! Why? Because you love the dog? No, because you love your friend.

If we only loved people when they earn it, we won’t find many opportunities to love people.

We do what we do not because other people have earned it, but because we love God and he has asked us to do it.

Colossians 3:23–24 ESV

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

The reason we love others, the reason we obey our parents, the reason we work hard instead of being lazy at work or school, it isn’t primarily because we have great friends or parents or teachers or bosses. Hopefully we do have that; but even if we don’t, we still live like God has asked us to live.

So if we only obey our parents, love others, and work hard when God has earned that from us, how often will we do that.

Always!

Why?

Because God is continuously faithful, good and loving towards us and because he has asked us to live in this way.

Because God deeply loves us and shows us this love always

Because God has already given us everything when he gave us his Son Jesus

Because we don’t have anything to earn anymore, we don’t serve others for what they can offer us, but we serve others in a life of gratitude to the God who loves us.

Because God has given us everything, and so we owe him our lives. And God has laid claim to our lives and told us to live in this way that loves and serves others.

So now whatever we do, we answer to God in the way that we do it. Your obligation to love people is an assignment from God, and you answer to him for how you do it. Your obligation to work hard is an assignment from God, and you answer to him in how you do it.

This is a blessing because God is gravious and merciful and the best “boss” you can imagine. But don’t think you can blow off these assignments. This life of maturity we are called to live that loves others, obeys parents, and works hard is what we ought to devote ourselves to, not because anyone deserves us to treat them that way, but because our loving God has asked us to.

So in everything you do, pour yourself into it with all you have, because you are working for God and not for man.