There is a difference between visiting someone’s house and making your home there. When we visit, we know we are only passing through. We settle in for a while, enjoy the conversation and then return to our everyday lives. Home is different. Home holds our routines, our habits and the way we live. Paul gives us a beautiful picture of the Christian life when he writes: “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him.” (Colossians 2:6)
These words remind us that receiving Christ is the beginning of a lifelong journey. The faith that brought us to Jesus is the same faith that sustains us each day. Abiding means more than believing certain truths about Christ, it is building our lives in Him. His presence becomes the place where we find our security, our direction and our identity. We learn to live each day with Christ at the centre.
Begin Where You Began
Read Colossians 2:6 to 7. Paul writes: “Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him.” There is something wonderfully reassuring about these words. The Christian life begins with grace and continues through grace. We received Christ through faith, and we continue to walk with him through faith.
As we grow spiritually, our confidence rests more deeply in Christ than in ourselves. Like a tree sending its roots deeper into the soil, our lives become increasingly grounded in him. Paul describes believers as being“rooted and built up in him.” The deeper we grow in Christ, the more we discover how much we need him. Spiritual maturity involves learning to trust Him more fully each day.
Abiding Changes What We Set Our Minds On
Read Colossians 3:1 to 4. Paul encourages believers to set their hearts and minds on things above. What fills our minds often shapes the direction of our lives. The things we dwell on influence our decisions, attitudes and priorities. When Christ becomes the centre of our lives, we begin to see everyday situations differently. We still care for our families, fulfil our responsibilities and engage in our work, but we do so with a different perspective.
Setting our minds on things above means learning to view life through the lens of Christ’s presence and purposes. His kingdom begins to influence how we think about success, relationships, challenges and opportunities.
Abiding Changes What We Leave Behind
Read Colossians 3:5 to 9. Faith always finds its way into everyday life. Paul speaks about turning away from attitudes and behaviours that no longer belong to our new life in Christ. He mentions things such as:
- sexual immorality
- greed
- anger
- malice
- slander
- lying
As Christ makes His home within us, He lovingly reshapes areas of our lives we may once have ignored, overlooked or accepted without question. Following Christ touches every part of who we are. Our thoughts, motivations, attitudes and actions increasingly reflect the One who lives within us. We belong to Christ. Because we belong to Him, we increasingly desire lives that honour Him. Obedience grows out of relationship. It is the grateful response of people who have received God’s grace and are being transformed by it.
Abiding Changes How We Treat People
Read Colossians 3:12 to 14. Paul describes the qualities that characterise those who belong to Christ:
- compassion
- kindness
- humility
- gentleness
- patience
- forgiveness
- love
This is where abiding becomes visible. The life of Christ within us touches the way we speak, listen, forgive and care for others. As we spend time with Him, His character begins to shine through our lives. Relationships often reveal what is happening in our hearts. When people disappoint us, misunderstand us or hurt us, we discover how much we need the grace of Christ. Abiding allows us to draw on that grace and extend it to others.
Paul concludes by encouraging believers to clothe themselves with love. Love gathers together every other Christlike quality and reflects the heart of Jesus.
Let the Peace and Word of Christ Rule
Read Colossians 3:15 to 17. Three phrases stand out:
“Let the peace of Christ rule.”
“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly.”
“Whatever you do… do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
These verses show us how deeply Christ desires to be involved in our lives. His peace guides our hearts, His Word shapes our thinking, and His presence influences our decisions.
Abiding Is Identity Lived Out
Return again to Colossians 2:6. The Christian life begins with belonging to Christ. From that secure foundation, we learn to live each day in Him. Our identity shapes our choices, and our choices increasingly reflect our identity.
Paul’s message is beautifully simple: In Christ → Living in Christ → Becoming like Christ
The gospel invites us into a relationship that changes us from the inside out. As Christ makes His home within us, our lives gradually reflect His character, compassion and priorities.
Christ never forces His way into any area of our lives. Instead, He invites us to trust Him more deeply. As we welcome Him into every room of our hearts, we discover that He is already at work, patiently shaping us into people who reflect His love, peace and character.
The invitation of Colossians is simple. Continue in Christ. Build your life in Him. Make your home in Him each day. Take a moment to reflect on this question: Where is Jesus inviting me to know Him more deeply and make my home more fully in Him? As we make our home in Christ, He makes His home in us … and slowly, faithfully, He makes us more like Himself.