Dwelling Richly

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16

Now there’s an idea to chew on. The word of Christ dwelling in me richly. How does that work?

First of all, the word of Christ is a gift we have. God has spoken. We can listen. Let’s not take that lightly. The Creator and Sustainer of life has revealed Himself to His creation. The God of all the earth has spoken to us. Wow!

Further, this word is of Christ. The Christ in Whom “all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Col. 1:19). He is what God has communicated. The One who is ALL, so richly described in Colossians 1. The One who is our Redeemer and made it possible for the word to dwell in any of us.

The word dwells in us. If we are in Christ and He in us, this is not something we occasionally glimpse. The word should be a real part of who we are. We feed on this word. We live by this word. We depend on this word — and not at a distance.

The word may dwell richly. That’s such a luxurious word. Do we have the word of Christ that way? Does it ooze from every pore into every part of our lives and actions? Are we fully engaged with the treasure?

What if we think of it this way?

You see the chocolate cake.
You smell the warm chocolate.
You know from experience how good it will taste.
It’s right there for the taking.

Have you picked up the fork and taken a bite? Did you savor that bite? Did you accept the whole bite with thankfulness? Was it a rich experience or just a hurried snatch? Is the cake now part of you or something you’ll get to when you have time…someday…maybe?

Most of us can start drooling at the thought of certain foods, but do we crave and engage with the word of Christ the same way?

Better Than Yesterday

Often, especially at the start of the year, we get overwhelmed by the ideal. We want to accomplish. We want to be. We want to do.

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The ideal may be good and true. But this life is a journey. Sanctification is a process. We become better over time, not with a magic wand in a moment. Remember, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Looking at an ideal or an ambitious goal is usually intimidating and overwhelming. But take a deep breath, step back, and adjust.

What if you simply work toward today being better than yesterday?

  • Day-by-day dependence on God highlights his daily grace in your life and provision of daily bread.
  • Steady progress over time is healthy and sustainable. (Healthy living vs. diets, anyone?)
  • A clean slate each day is a motivating fresh start when needed. If the best you could hope for today was keeping your head above water — tomorrow is coming!

Take advantage of the resources available to you, whether that be through people you know or online or at the library. We are blessed with so much to use for learning and growing. A friend encouraging along the way and holding you accountable helps a ton (and keeps you from settling for less out of laziness or discouragement). Technology has downsides, but it also offers many tools for supporting your personal growth.

Just one bite. A little bit better today. Just better. Just today.