Why be strong?

And another thing! July 15, 2025

The letter that Paul writes to the church in Colossae is densely packed. The sentences are long and they fit a lot in there. There’s so much good, though, that it’s worth taking things bit by bit and making sure we got them.

Verses 11-12, for example, are a blessing for the Colossians, and an example of what Paul and others have been praying about on their behalf. It becomes a blessing for us, God’s people in South Carolina who are reading over the Colossians’ shoulders.

11 May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, so that you may have all endurance and patience, joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.

May you be made strong, not with your own willpower, but with God’s glorious power. God’s power doesn’t fail. Your strength can be more than you know and more than you have earned or worked for. More than that, our strength should be from God, rather than any human source.

Why be strong? So that we might have all endurance and patience. I have often needed patience, but I don’t know that I’ve linked it with strength before. We could think of endurance as strength over time, so that makes sense. And God knows we need patience as a gift; we never have quite enough on our own.

While we are enduring whatever we need to endure, we are meant to joyfully give thanks to God the Father, because God has allowed us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. You know, having something to look forward to does give us strength to make it through the present moment.

Because we are God’s children, we share together in the inheritance, the gifts that God has for all our siblings. It helps us to look around and know that we aren’t alone in dealing with the world’s nonsense. It helps us to know that God has better things planned for us than even our best days. It helps us to know that God is with us and that our brothers and sisters in Christ are praying for us and giving thanks for us.

Whatever you are enduring in this season, may God’s strength fill you with what you need. May God give you not just enough to make it by, but enough that you will be joyful and grateful, filled with hope. May God give you a glimpse of the inheritance that is yours as a gift because Jesus claimed you. May you be a saint in the light, walking in the ways of truth, transparency, and love.

We get these blessings—this amazing blessing—not because we have earned it. We get them not because we understand any of the tangled grammar going on. We get them because God loves us, God chooses us, and God sends us to invite others into the light.