Knit Together

Today’s Bible reading is 2 Chronicles 32 and Colossians 2.

Listen to how much Paul cared for the first-century disciples of Jesus in Colossae and beyond:

I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Col 2:1-3)

“That hearts may be encouraged.” Is that a big deal? Something I should take seriously? Can I really make that much of a difference in someone else’s life? Consider…

• When you visit the funeral home, even on your day off
• When you take the time to send that “Thank you” text
• When you mail the card of appreciation
• When you take that college student under your wing
• When you drop by the nursing home
• When you help that new couple unload the U-Haul
• When you let that single person know they were missed
• When you use your home as a hub of hospitality
• When you take the new mom out for coffee and ask how she’s doing

…hearts are encouraged, slowly “knit together in love.” Separate lives–like distinct threads–are crossed, drawn together, and made stronger as a result. Trust is built. Understanding is established. Common interests are discovered. Talents are put to good use. Fellowship is shared. Together we reach further into the “riches” of Christ, loving “because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

When disciples of Jesus serve as sons and daughters of encouragement and the hearts of brethren are knit together in love, “the whole body” is “nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments,” and it “grows with a growth that is from God” (Col 2:19).

Two thousand years ago, a woman named Tabitha lived in Joppa. “She was full of good works and acts of charity” (Acts 9:36). She made tunics and other garments for widows. Hearts were encouraged in the process. When Tabitha died, all the widows wept. Why? Not simply because the maker of their tunics was gone. Hearts had been knit together in love. Tabitha had died, but the impact of her selfless service lived on and 2,000 years later, her light continues to shine.

What about you? What about today? You’re just a single thread in God’s amazing tapestry, but who knows what the Lord could do through you if you took the time to serve, comfort, or encourage someone today? When hearts are knit together in love, you’re not only a blessing. You’re blessed.