Colossians 3:17 (NET)
“And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
When we do something “in the name” of someone else, it is saying that we are representing that person and doing it as they would. Does this verse/thought intimidate you? Can you say definitively that the way in which you are conducting your life is the way that Jesus Christ Himself would? Why, or why not?
I know that these are some difficult questions, and that for all of us at some point or another, we have to answer in a negative way. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We are all prone to make decisions based on our emotions that will not align with how Jesus would make those same decisions. With that said though, we do have to reflect upon the amount of times this does happen, and then make the necessary corrections in our actions in order to better represent the One in whose Name we bear as Christians.
I am reminded of the Biblical call to be Ambassador’s of Christ Jesus. In 2 Corinthians 5:20, Paul commands us to be men and women who go out among the world around us making the case for Christ in the way we speak and act. Whenever an ambassador of a Nation goes to another Nation, they are doing so with the full and complete direction and mission of the Leader of their Nation. I believe that the same is true of us who consider ourselves ambassadors of Christ. We have His mission on our mind always, we know who He is, and we conduct ourselves in such a way that the world in which we are representing Him to is going to know who He is and what He stands for as well!
Whatever we say or do must reflect the fact that Jesus is Lord of our lives. This reminds me of Romans 12:1 where Paul urges us to offer up our bodies as living sacrifices, presenting ourselves as holy, alive, and pleasing to God. It is hard to do something in the name of our perfect Savior without it being pure, blameless, holy, etc. Just think if each of us were to do and say things through this filter – would Jesus say or do this (think of the old saying, What would Jesus Do?). Don’t you think that this world would be a lot better if we truly were doing and saying things “in the Name of Jesus”? I know I certainly think it would be, and I intend on making this a filter through which I can strain out any and all impure motives and actions that will not reflect the Name of my Savior accurately to a lost and dying world around me!
I also want to discuss the implications of the last part of this verse and the last part of verse 16 (I know that you may have thought I missed that as I developed my thoughts around Col 3:16 a few posts ago in the blog titled, “Is the Word of Christ Dwelling In You?, but I didn’t. I just was waiting to combine the two.), being thankful! Having a grateful heart and mind will stop us from committing many acts of sinfulness, in my opinion. Let me explain.
Envy is the antithesis of gratitude. Why, because when I envy something, or someone, I am very discontented and resentful of them, or that thing, which in turn makes me ungrateful. For example: My neighbor gets a new car, instead of being grateful to the Lord for providing this car for my neighbor, I become upset and start to either resent them for getting it or I look for ways to get back at them with what I say or do. Or, my co-worker gets praised for doing a great job and gets a promotion. Instead of rejoicing with them and being grateful to the Lord for supplying such a great promotion to my co-worker, I get so upset that I intentionally sabotage the person and make them look badly in the hopes that they get demoted and I look getter. This is envy. This is why it says in James 3:16 (KJV 1900) “For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.”, and I believe that gratitude is the medicine that heals the virus of envy and contention within us!
Give thanks to God the Father through Jesus. Jesus is our mediator, this means that He is the go-between that reconciles us and the Father! We need to understand that before Christ showed up, we were separated from the Father because of our sins. Now that we have asked Jesus to be our Savior, we are reconciled to God through Him (see 2 Cor 5:17-21). I hope that this makes us grateful as we reflect upon the work of Christ! Without Him we are still separated from God, but with Him we are joined together as one! Jesus says in His Priestly prayer (John 17) that He has made us one with Him just as He is one with the Father! We are one with God, united with Him forever.
Oh how I hope that this is giving you a glimpse into the complete work of reconciliation that Christ accomplished for us, because it is precisely this work and the understanding of what it accomplished that will produce in all of us an immeasurable debt of gratitude that will display itself in our actions and speech everywhere that we go and to anyone we have contact with! Let’s all consider what God has done for us and use that truth to compel us to good works and grateful hearts!
God bless you as you live out your life with gratitude and representation of Jesus Christ in your actions and speech!