WALK WORTHY, BE FRUITFUL, AND INCREASE IN KNOWLEDGE.
Colossians 1:10 That you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.
We are to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. We must conduct ourselves in a way that is in line with the Word of God. In other words, we must be kind, be in control of our flesh in every way, and live our lives in front of everyone in a way that God is pleased with. We do this by being a doer of His Word, following in the steps of Jesus, and keeping our flesh under.
Today’s scripture is connected to Verse 9, in that we are praying this for others. So, besides you and I doing this, this is something the Lord is asking us to pray for others. Shouldn’t they be doing it on their own? Yes, but if they are not and they are important to you (say an adult child, spouse, close friend, parent, or relative), then you and I have been commissioned and authorized to pray for them by the Holy Ghost. We know when these people are not walking right, so we don’t just have to cry about it, or despair about it, or give up, we can pray. And when we pray, God hears and then, power for them to change is made available. We can continue to pray for people to be fruitful in every good work because we know that although good works don’t save us, we were born again to do good works.
You and I are obeying what the Lord is telling us to do for the Body of Christ, through our church, by reaching out to our community and to the nations of the world. We are serving Him with our good works; however, many are not. They are either not doing anything or they just like being served (like they are in a country club or something). We are authorized to pray for them that they would be fruitful in good works.
It is interesting that being fruitful in every good work is in the middle of walking worthy and increasing in knowledge. It is just three short phrases, but it incapsulates the Christian life. Because the bearing of fruit is just as important as walking worthy and increasing in knowledge, it was put right in the middle. I think what we do for the Lord is so vital. I think being active in serving God is a great representation of Jesus on the Earth.
One of the last things Jesus did before He went to the cross was to wash the disciples’ feet. He told them, as He is telling us, that He didn’t come to be served but to be a servant. He told us the way up in the Body of Christ is to become a servant of all. It must be really important for people to bear fruit in good works, or the Lord wouldn’t have told us to pray for people to be fruitful, so it seems very important in our walk with God.
The last one is to increase in the knowledge of God. We must pray that people receive more knowledge of God. You know the famous scripture that says, “My people perish for a lack of knowledge.” People are perishing, going astray, and walking in the dark, so we must pray for them. Pray that the eyes of their understanding would be enlightened. Our prayers for people in these three areas are vital. Sow this seed of prayer into someone’s life. Take just one person this week and pray these things for them and watch God change them!