by Andrea Lem
Fridays are days that I always look forward to because 1) not only does Friday mean the weekend is here, but 2) it also means that I get to fellowship with other brothers and sisters that I haven’t seen during the week. In Singles, we have the opportunity to fellowship through receiving challenging teaching and of course, through the delicious refreshments and accompanying conversations. Not to say that I don’t enjoy the refreshments and chatting with others, but at this point in Singles this year, I have grown even more appreciative for the biblically-sound teaching that we’ve been getting each week.
On Friday nights, Pastor Patrick has been going through the book of Colossians with us, dissecting each verse piece by piece with in-depth explanations. In Colossians, Paul writes to the church in Colossae to warn of heretical teaching and encourages the Colossians to stand firm in Christ and their salvation through Him. During the last couple of weeks in Singles, I’ve been particularly encouraged by Paul’s writing and his love for the church and its people. After all, if he didn’t love them, why would he even bother writing this letter to them? Reading and studying Colossians has highlighted for me Christ’s love through Paul and it challenges me to desire to love the church and its people in the same way.
Another thing that I’ve been encouraged by and reminded of is how central the gospel is in my life as a believer. Oftentimes, with the busyness of life and just day to day things, it’s easy to be distracted from the gospel. But from this study in Colossians, Paul is constantly pointing the Colossians back to the gospel and the truth of it. The last two sermons – “The Tremendously Awesome Salvation We Have in Christ” – were taken from Colossians 2: 11-14 have been such a blessing. Pastor Patrick exposited each of the four verses in such detail that it helped me to understand what Paul was saying even more. From verses 11-14, I was reminded that before Christ, I was dead. Completely dead. But, out of His tremendous love for me, God has forgiven me of my sins and I have been baptized and spiritually circumcised to be identified as one of his own. And I didn’t do anything to deserve this forgiveness. I was completely dead before but because of God and his love, I’ve been completely forgiven and completely alive now. This is a “basic” truth but the more I meditate on it, the more I am in awe of God.
Now, that begs the question, what does that mean for my life? It’s easy to keep this all as head knowledge as I go through each day. But from the sermons, I’ve really been challenged to seek to take this knowledge and actually apply it in my life. I’ve been reflecting and asking myself questions such as, “Who am I living for? For God? Or for me?,” “How does a gospel-centered life look everyday, all the time?,” etc. I’ve been thinking about how it affects not just the big things in life but also the little decisions and actions that I make each day. Seeking to apply these things won’t be easy as I’m sure sins will continuously be confronted. But that just drives me all the more to depend on my God and to pray for His strength and guidance, which barely touches on what the Singles’ Retreat was about (Please feel free to come talk to me or any other Single about what our retreat was about!). So, if I had to wrap everything into a sentence or two, I’d say that being a part of Singles is a tremendous blessing as I continue to learn and seek to live as a follower of Christ, who desires to glorify God through complete dependence on Him.