Colossians 1:3-5
“Our prayers for you are always spilling over into thanksgivings. We can’t quit thanking God our Father and Jesus our Messiah for you! We keep getting reports on your steady faith in Christ, our Jesus, and the love you continuously extend to all Christians. The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope.”
“We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News. ”
Paul begins this little book by thanksgiving for the church of Colossae, corporately and individually. He uses the sandwich method of placing critical exhortations between positives. I must do better at this, especially with my husband and family. I tend to speak directly, which sounds harsh. This would be especially good with my daughter-in-law.
Lord, help me to recover the tact and gentleness I had when younger. Granted, it was a function of my insecurities. Life burned it away and only you can bring it back. Please restore it to me. Let it be rooted in you this time.