“Let the Word of Christ Dwell in you Richly”
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,” Paul reminds us in Col. 3:16. Richly, abundantly, overflowingly, constantly, pressed into our memory so that the very words of God in the Bible are always present to our minds. There is great promise in that verse, for the “word of Christ” dwelling richly in us marks out the community that is filled with the Spirit (according to Ephesians 5:18), and there is great responsibility here—since there will be words dwelling “richly” in us, and it is our task to choose which words those will be.
I am reading the autobiography of John Paton, early Protestant missionary to the south Pacific. He talks warmly about his father, a godly Scottish sock-maker who began leading family Bible reading and prayers at age 17 with his mother. Here is how John Paton, his son, reflects on his father, James Paton:
At age 17 he began, “that blessed custom of family prayer, morning and evening, which my father practised probably without one single avoidable omission till he lay on his deathbed, seventy-seven years of age; when, even to the last day of his life, a portion of Scripture was read, and his voice was heard softly joining in the psalm, and his lips breathed the morning and evening prayer.” (Paton, Autobiography, 16).
Such a testimony is both convicting and overwhelming. Morning and evening prayers over his entire life? Are you kidding me? Scripture reading as a family at both times?
Do we need a solid goal for our lives, Cities Church? How about “Let the word of Christ dwell richly in you”?
We 21st century people claim skill in some things, and we certainly possess much greater material wealth than did this James Paton. But on our final day, will we be as wealthy in the patterns of Bible reading and prayer?
Dear friends, what steady, incremental steps are you taking today to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly? And what other steps are getting in the way of those?
This reminds us of the need to confess our sins…
Prayer of Confession
O Lord, you tell us that the person is blessed who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of scoffers. But blessed is the one whose delight is in the instruction of the Lord, and who meditates on the word of the Lord day and night (Ps. 1). O Lord, we hear that promise and yet we find so often that our hearts are cold.
We are surrounded by the voices of the wicked, of sinners, and of scoffers. We listen to unhealthy words, we justify wrong using deceptive words, and we are tempted to view your word with cynicism and scoffing.
Even though we believe in your good word to us, our weakness shows in that we allow other things to crowd our time. We lose focus. We find it hard to wake ourselves up early or keep ourselves awake at night.
So, we confess to you our lack of planning to read and hear your word, our lack of spiritual vision to see the value of your word, and our failure to press through in the task of reading and meditation so that your word truly dwells deep within us. Please forgive us, according to your steadfast love. Lead us now as we confess this and other sins, in a time of silent confession…