CHEATED OR COMPLETED

READING: COLOSSIANS 2:4-10

Verse 8: “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”

People don’t very well tolerate being cheated. We respond to fraud using organizations like the Better Business Bureau and various law enforcement agencies. The Apostle Paul encourages us to have a similar attitude toward being cheated spiritually. He expresses that as his desire for us in the verse quoted above. There is something that Paul wants for all Christians. Instead of being cheated by the emptiness of deceit, he wants us to receive the fullness of the Lord Jesus. In verse 9, he goes on to explain that the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ. Therefore we as Christians are complete in Him! Once again the Holy Scripture faces us with a vital choice. We can be cheated thru human emptiness or we can accept completion through the divine fullness offered to all in the Lord. The eternal truth is that no one will ever be defrauded in Christ. That’s a thought - about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. In the past, in what situation were you cheated of you divine fullness because of human emptiness?

2. How does that past experience influence your life today?