Written by Luzia Casali, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Porto Alegre, Brazil
Once I bought a small piece of furniture online which needed to be assembled. Because it was small, I tried putting it together without the instructions. What a disaster! I had to redo it, following the steps in the assembly manual. Has anything like this ever happened to you?
In our Christian walk, we need Bible verses that guide us to know if we are building our life as the Father desires. Fortunately, God, through the apostle Paul, left us a true treasure to be our guide in our Christian journey.
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Col 3:17 NIV)
Have you ever considered how rich this verse is?
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed…”
When Paul says whatever, he means whatever—what we have done or are going to do in our lives as Christian women. And it goes further—it’s not just in action!!! We must also watch what we think. Our actions and thoughts must honor Him. Without a doubt, it is our faith that should drive this behavior.
But to know what we need to be, we need to transform our minds, as Romans 12:2 warns:
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
By transforming our minds, we will transform our actions. But how do we do this?
We need to read the Word of God, participate in classes, and pray to the Father for wisdom. The Christian faith is a faith of action, not a static one. It's not just about knowledge; we need to put into practice what we learn from the Holy Scriptures. The Bible is a mirror to show us whether our attitudes are in accordance with God's will and whether we are following His will as daughters, wives, mothers, friends, professionals…
- As daughters: “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you" (Ex 20:12). This means showing them respect even when you don’t feel they’ve earned it.
- As wives: "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him" (Ge 2:18). We need to help our husbands for the growth of the Kingdom of God and the strengthening of the family.
- As mothers: “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it” (Pr 22:6). That's a promise! We must teach our children about God and salvation in His Son Jesus Christ.
- As friends: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Mt 7:12).
- As professionals: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance. It is the Lord Christ you are serving" (Col 3:23-24). As much as we may not like our superiors, we need to give our best, as if we were working for God.
“…do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus…”
We need to have His authorization to act. A good illustration of this is when someone writes a check. It can only be cashed if the signature on the check matches that of the checking account holder. If it doesn’t match, the bank teller won’t cash it. The correct signature authorizes the withdrawal of the amount on the check.
Therefore, it must be very clear in our minds that our actions must be authorized by Christ.
“…giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Why give thanks? We cannot forget that we were bought with a high price: the blood of God's own Son. Therefore, what we do must always be done with respect, honor, and submission to the Lord. Because we were bought, our will is no longer ours; we must be submissive to the will of Christ. He must be glorified in our lives.
Christ died in our place, and it is thanks to Him that we have remission of our sins. Because of Him, the veil of the temple was torn and therefore we have access through prayer to the Eternal Father. And the most incredible thing is knowing that we will spend eternity with Him.
Always give thanks to Christ. Always have a grateful heart, no matter what you do.
Our challenge is to keep in mind that our attitudes must be to honor God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit—because Christ authorizes us.
And above all, always have a grateful heart!
