The Family of God

A little girl was doing her best to carry her baby brother. Watching her struggle, someone asked if she wasn’t tired. The girl gave her now famous reply, “No, he’s not heavy; he’s my brother.” Like that little girl, we are often willing to go the extra mile to care for our family.

While in prison, the apostle Paul penned the remarkable letter, we know as the book of Colossians, to a group of Christians he had never met. Colossae had been an important town along a trade route in modern Turkey. While the city had waned in prominence compared to nearby Laodicea, it still had a cosmopolitan feel with different ethnicities, including a significant Jewish population.

Paul introduced himself as an “apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God” (v. 1). Paul had the authority of one called and appointed by Jesus. As a former persecutor of the faith, Paul was aware that he was an apostle of Christ Jesus only “by the will of God” (v. 1). God had stopped him in his tracks and set him on a new course on the road to Damascus.

Although Paul had never visited this church, he warmly greeted them as “faithful brothers and sisters” (v. 2). Referring to a non-relative as a “brother” or “sister” was highly unusual in Greco-Roman culture. Yet, it was commonplace among early Christians who viewed one another as family. They could act this way because of their unity “in Christ” (v. 2). This was more important than their biological family, or city, or ethnic origin.

Paul ends his greeting with the familiar “grace and peace” (v. 2) upon the Colossians. This phrase is not a throw-away line. The grace of God enabled Paul to be an apostle and helps believers today to treat one another as family—brothers and sisters—in Christ.

Pray with Us

We’d like to start the month by praying for Moody’s faculty in the Pastoral Studies department: Craig Hendrickson, John Koessler, Laurie Norris, Pamela MacRae, and Winfred Neely. We praise God for their wonderful ministry to students!

BY Ryan Cook

Dr. Ryan Cook has taught at Moody Bible Institute since 2012. He earned his bachelor of arts in Bible and Theology from Moody and his master of arts in Old Testament from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. He has worked in Christian education and served as a pastor in Michigan for seven years. During his time as a professor at Moody, he earned his doctorate from Asbury Theological Seminary. He now lives with his wife, Ashley, and their three children in the Chicagoland area.