A friend shared a wonderful story from a recent Children’s Sunday School class. The day’s Bible story was John the Baptist; the scene was prison. John was discouraged so the class was tasked with writing letters to him in lockup.

They talked about Jesus; imagining they were there to see the things Jesus had been doing. They witnessed His miracles, saw Him heal the sick; restore hearing, give sight to the blind and even saw Him raise the dead...

Then they wrote to John to encourage him

“We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me” (Colossians 1:28-29)

It is interesting that one of the most influential forces in the growth of the Church was the apostle Paul. Not only did he write most of the New Testament but he and his companions took the gospel to the far reaches of the known world during his lifetime as one of the very first missionaries. His impact did not end there, even today believers pour over his words, learning the very doctrines of our faith from the letters he wrote so many centuries ago.

What impresses me most about Paul is that he lived very singular, very focused on the mission God gave him to do. He knew it, he lived it and opened each of his letters reiterating it. Proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ was the driving force in life. In the previous verses Paul describes that he was commissioned to present the word of God in fullness to us (vs. 25) and now he restates it and gives the reason that he labors with all the energy that God gave him.