Watch it Grow

⁴  We (have) heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, ⁵  because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, ⁶  which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.  Colossians 1:4-6

It is amazing to watch things grow. Plants grow by fertile soil, water, and sunlight. Newborn infants grow up by the nourishment of their mother’s milk.  Babies and Toddlers grow by Gerber baby food, small little bites and Sippy cups. From about 4-14 you grow astronomically just by eating Peanut butter and Jelly Sandwiches, carrot sticks and a glass of milk. That is a miracle. At some point though, we do ourselves a disservice in our growing up. We leave behind the fundamental and nourishing things that we are meant to grow up on. Without concentrated effort we somehow get by on things that are not truly nourishing.  As a teenager, somehow Pop Tarts, Doritos and energy drinks to get you from place to place.  College kids get by on a six pack, day old pizza and ramen noodles. You remember those days, It Is a miracle that you are still alive. That is not the best diet.  That is not truly nourishing. 

We leave behind the meat, potatoes, vegetables and nourishment that are good for us in favor of something else, trying to get all that we need in life from dessert. Trying to get by on that which tops off the meal instead of that which is the foundation of the meal and life itself.  Now my goal here is not to make you hungry (though I may have).  My goal is to get us to think, how do we grow and bear fruit as Christians? What is the fertile and foundational soil that we need to be planted in to gain the nutrients we need for the Christian life?  The answer that we see here, in Colossians 1:6 is Jesus. There is no other reliable foundation for hope (or growth) than  Jesus Christ. Hope flows out of the gospel in limitless supply.  Death has been defeated, we are alive now, we are reconciled with God because of what Christ has done if we believe.

Paul wants them to realize that Christ is foundational, but also fertile hope.  False teachers among them were trying to get people to look beyond the gospel (beyond Jesus) for ultimate spiritual fulfillment. For something that works better.  But the power of the gospel itself proves its own validity.  As the Colossians are faced with false teachers Paul wants then to know that the truth of the gospel is bearing fruit and growing all around them. It is fertile hope. Stuff grows only in the soil that Jesus provides through his death and resurrection. Proof is that this growth is happening all over the world.  

It is working, So Paul says don’t feel like you have to change it.  Don’t feel like you need to move on from the gospel. Don’t jump ship.  You don’t have to use something else in order to grow people.  Keep relying on the power of what Christ has done as applied by the Holy Spirit to do its work in your heart. Rely then on that same gospel to do its work in you to change you just as it did when you first believed. Believe that it will work. 

Is your life characterized by faith, love and hope? Are you growing? All of us would have to answer “not as much as it could be.”  Contemplate these things as God grows you? 

1.  Whose Garden are you in? Where are you planted?  Where do you roots go down into? What storehouses of nutrients are you drawing from?  Are you a Christian? Have you truly put your faith in Christ? Are you in the right garden (church) to grow? 
2. Read the nutrition facts. In all of the Christian things you are doing. Is there enough Jesus in there?  Are there direct lines to the gospel?  Or do you have to look really hard to find any connection with Jesus?  Does your spiritual diet contain 0% or 100% Jesus? 
3. Get out the Miracle Grow.  This passage says there is only one thing that will cause deep long lasting growth and fruit. Jesus Christ. You need to know well what will make you grow.  The foundation of your Christian life is believing that though you deserved death and punishment for your sins, God sent his son to rescue you from those sins by dying on the cross and rising again. That is foundational.  But being overwhelmed by the same grace of God in the gospel is also how you then grow and bear fruit of love and faith and service and doing all the things in the Christian life because you are so thankful and overwhelmed for all that God has done for you in Christ. Growth happens when you focus on Jesus.