Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Growing in Knowledge and Bearing Fruit

Bible Reading: Colossians 1:3-13

Key verse: In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world-just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. (Colossians 1:6)

DEVOTION

Paul begins his letter to the Colossians with gratitude. He thanks God because the gospel is actively working among the believers (Col 1:3–5). It is not just sitting on a shelf or confined only to their thoughts. Instead, it is alive—bearing fruit and growing. This is the key message of this passage: the good news of Jesus produces transformation, action, and visible fruit.
1. The Gospel puts us to work
An orchard bears fruit when it is nurtured. Paul explains that the gospel works the same way in the believer’s life. It produces faith in Christ, love for others, and a hope that reshapes how people live. Where the gospel really takes root, it bears fruit and keeps growing, stirring believers to a life of active, fruitful obedience rather than idle faith.
2. Fruit is the evidence of real life
Paul measures faith not by knowledge, but by what life produces. A Stanford University psychologist once demonstrated that people are driven by visible results—what Jesus called “fruit.” He hired a logger and offered double pay if the man would swing an axe using the blunt end all day, without cutting any wood. At first, the logger agreed, thinking it would be easy money. After a few hours of effort with no chips flying and no progress made, he quit. “Every swing should send chips flying—without them, it’s no fun,” he said. God designed us the same way spiritually. A faith that produces no change becomes exhausting, but when the gospel is at work, lives change, obedience grows, and love increases.
3. You received the Gospel—now it’s your turn to share it
Paul reminds the Colossians that they did not discover the gospel by themselves; someone brought it to them (Col 1:7–8). That truth carries responsibility. Others are now waiting to hear it from you. The gospel never stops with the receiver—it always moves outward.

PRAYER

Father, thank You for the gospel that reshapes us; help us to live fruitful lives and to bravely share Your truth with all those still waiting. Amen

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

“The Gospel is only good news, if it gets there in time”- Carl F.H. Henry

Dr. Anju Mary Philip
The Canadian Mar Thoma Church, Ontario, Canada
 

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