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As long as there have been Christians, there has been a need for them to be shepherded and steered so that they remain connected to the source of their salvation - Christ. The reason for this is simple. The devil has systematically worked to destroy the Body of Christ by injecting dangerous thinking and practices that serve only to create distance between individuals and the God Christ died to reconcile them to.
This issue persists in our day and is arguably worse than it has ever been. Believers can attest to the necessity to keep striving in their faith and godly learning. Several distractions and attitudes contrive to side-track once-fervent Christians to stray from the God they love. They become lukewarm, like those Christ warned of in Revelation 3:16 - So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. These are those who have not donned their Kingdom Identity but cosplay as Christians and sit on the fence. They are ineffective for God's kingdom and thus serve satan's evil devices.
So that we do not become like such individuals, we are told in Colossians 2:6 - So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. We are expected to continue living in Christ, meaning simply submitting to His authority is not enough. We have to allow Him to change us and remake us so our daily lives reflect Him and not the ways of the world. This happens as we receive and surrender to the Holy Spirit, creating a progressive relationship that deepens over time. As we do this increasingly, Christ will be our foundation and we will root ourselves in His instructions, reading the word of God so we understand what He expects. The more we do this, the more we will have experiences that build and strengthen our faith, putting it to work for His glory. And to cap it all off, we shall overflow in thankfulness in the good and bad times because we will know that all things are working out for our good.
Remaining rooted in Christ means we cannot disconnect from Him. Colossians 2:19 warns that some "have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow." We have to remember that Christ is the vine and He taught us in John 15:5 that it is only if we remain connected to Him that we will bear fruit. Fruit that will feed others and set them free. These others could be our children or their descendants. They could be the stranger who needs to see Christ's freeing light in us so that they equally seek the vine to which we are connected. Remember that as believers we have a responsibility not only to our fellow Christians but to unbelievers as well. We are to spread the good news of undeserved grace received through Christ that guarantees access to the best place to spend eternity - heaven.
Let us be resolute in continuing to live our lives in Christ. Let us take the intentional steps to keep the relationship going and growing. That we, being rooted in Christ, may serve God's kingdom here on earth, never becoming the lukewarm who will be spat out by the Savior. IJMN, Amen.
Come back at Noon EST for fellowship so that we may continue living lives rooted in Christ. God bless you.
