Colossians 1:11-12 … Enduring with Joy (02/11/17)
“Be prepared to endure everything with patience,
while Joy-fully giving thanks to the Father …”
~ Paul (Colossians 1:11-12)
First and foremost, consider the Truth that it is impossible to purely give thanks while “enduring” anything – for the former is ever selfless & humble while the latter is always (at least to some significant degree) both self-fixated & prideful …
Secondly, at least in Jesusian terms, there can be no traditional manifestation of patience (i.e. riding out discomfort by faithfully waiting for things to get better), for Jesus called us all to live only in the moment and to do the living thereof ever-actively …
Thirdly, Colossians was in all probability Paul’s final biblical work – and if this epistle was truly written by Paul, it is worth remembering that it would have been written by him while he was sitting in prison …
Finally, note the sweet irony here — for Jesus would say that it is giving thanks for times of trouble (not for one’s ultimate freedom or any subsequent heavenly reward) that proves to be the very liberation (or is at least an immediate precursor thereof) for which the unenlightened “Paulinist” errantly prays.
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