For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:9-14 (NIV)
Have you ever heard a coach tell a player, “you’re not worthy to be on this team”? Or a boss tell an employee, “you’re not qualified enough for your position”? Or even worse, when a parent responds to their child saying, “You’re not worthy to be my son or daughter.”
Maybe you have one of these said about you in your lifetime. These words cut deep. They hurt. They wound. They leave us limping as thy injure us. We don’t want them to, but they do.
Maybe, you have had this thought of God. If I’m not good enough to be worthy of my position at work or a relationship with my parents or my spouse, the. How would God see me as worthy to be accepted by Him?
After all, we need measure up. We can’t even hold the standard we set for others to live by. How then could God accept us when we break our own rules, let alone God’s rules.
If you have ever felt this way, Paul said this prayer for you. In this passage Paul records his prayer for the church of Colosse. His words give you and I hope because they are not directives that we carry out in our own capabilities. They are ways we submit and allow God’s spirit to live through us.
First, God is the giver—and the One responsible—of dispensing his wisdom and understanding, through His Spirit. This enables us to know His will.
We can’t know God’s will in our own efforts. We can’t gain that understating by ourselves. We are lead to this knowledge and understanding with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Second, knowing God’s will is the necessary component to pleasing God and being considered worthy of Him. But notice, this doesn’t originate with you and me. It originates with God. Living according to God’s will is synonymous with pleasing God.
A life that pleases God has a specific trait:
Third, we bear fruit; we grow in our knowledge of God; and we are strengthen by His might so we can build endurance. These are the result of a life that pleases God.
But here’s where we stop because we don’t see our life hitting this benchmark that has been set. Let me remind you that this a prayer of what would be ideal. It’s here, though, where we feel unworthy to be associated with God because clearly we are unqualified for the position.
This is where Paul changes his tone…
Fourth, we can be thankful because we don’t have to qualify ourselves for this, God has qualified us already! What are we qualified for? To share in His inheritance.
How do we get this privilege? How are we given this access pass? This qualification?
We are given this qualification of being “worthy” because God is a Savior, our Rescuer. He grants us access to the kingdom His Son lives in. It is through Jesus, alone, we have been forgiven of our “unworthiness.” Jesus did this by paying not just our bail but paying the apprise amount to redeem us and make us right before God.
So when you think you are unworthy, maybe you have forgotten what Jesus did to make you worthy. He valued you and I so much that He thought you were “worth it.” “Worth” the cost of leaving heaven. “Worth” the cost of dying I. Our stead. “Worth the cost” of paying for you and I to be seen as “worthy” to live for Him.
So do you see yourself as “worthy?”
My next step:
Don’t base my self-worth on what I do or have done. Base my self-worth on what Jesus has done for me.
What’s your next step?