Many rightly desire to be in volved in the work of the Lord. To be effective there are two impor tant things to consider. The first is the person of Christ. Our stand ing is that we died with Him so that our lives are "hid with Christ in God" (3:3, 4). The Lord must be at the very center of your life. Are we really enamored with the per son of Jesus Christ? The second thing to consider is the body of Christ (vrs. 15). In our dedication we must also remember that we are a part of His body, made up of born-again believers. Do we have a desire to encourage one another in the Word of God (vrs. 16)? We can lead no one further than we ourselves have gone! Bible classes and Sunday school are important, but are we communicating the Gospel on a personal level? What about those with whom we work, or in our neighborhood, or even in our homes? Do they see Christ pre eminent in all we do and say? We have a very real obligation to men and women who know not the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Saviour. What kind of an example do we leave for others?
the Christian life. We are to allow Christ's love to flow through us. Recently, I installed a sprinkling system for my yard. We attached the first set to see if it would work. When the valve was turned on in anticipation, we were disappoint ed that each of the heads only let out a little trickle. We called the water company to test the pressure of the main. Between the street and the valve there was a 75 per cent loss of water pressure. There was too much corrosion in the pipe. The only remedy was to put in a whole new pipe. When this was done our objective was rea lized. The sprinklers poured forth their refreshing and life-giving substance. Many Christians find in their lives a similar condition. Clut tered with a lot of things —the sins of earth which the Lord wants us to remove—we are almost totally ineffective for Him. The love of Christ cannot flow through us in the way He intended. We must take drastic measure to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom (vrs. 16). This is that full flow which we need for power and victory in our daily lives. Never minimize the importance of the Word of Christ in this pro gram of daily growth. We are to study it, meditate upon it, count its truths, share it with others, and rejoice in it. RELATIONSH IPS No Christian is left without a clear-cut picture of what God de sires of our lives as believers. One of the most practical books of the Bible dealing with this subject is Colossians. Everything we do in life should be for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ (3:17, 23).
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