. . . Being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. Colossians 1:11-12
While I was using pills, after the good times wore off and it just became miserable, I desperately wanted to be sober. I hated what I’d become, and I wanted a new life in recovery. For years though, I just couldn’t do what it took to get there. Why? If I knew life would be better if I quit using, why didn’t I stop? Simply, I was addicted, and that is the definition of addiction – repeatedly engaging in some behavior, despite knowing the self-destructive consequences. I knew there was a way out, but I also knew how difficult that path was going to be.
Looking back, I was right. It was a mountain of work and pain to get here, but now that I’m in recovery, I can also say it was absolutely worth it. On the front side of it though, the idea of confession, treatment, honesty, and changing my life was terrifying. I wanted recovery, but I didn’t want to go through what it took to get there.
I think a lot of us are in a similar position when it comes to the life for which we were created. In today’s passage, Paul described this blessed life. He didn’t say we’d be rich and successful. He did say however, that we would become strong, resilient, patience, gracious, and joyful, as we are filled with the light of God himself. Most of us read this and think, “I want that life”. The ironic thing is, this life is available to us. The problem is, we want to know this life, but we’re simply not willing to do what it takes to get there.
What is it that scares us off? Verse 10 supplies the answer – walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him. To know the life for which we were made, we need to stop living to please ourselves and live to please God. We must abandon our path for his. Yes, we want the blessed life, but practically, we remain unwilling to do what it takes to get there. When it comes down to it, we simply cannot surrender our right to live the way we want.
We were made for more. We were made to know strength, joy, and peace. To experience those things though, we must be willing to do what it takes to get there. If we desire that life, we must daily abandon our way to follow the one who created us.