We Proclaim Him.

His energy and my attention.

Staggering.

Bible book of Colossians, chapter 1, verses 28 and 29. "We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me."

His energy. My attention.

I proclaim a lot of things. Some of great value. Some frivolous. God's Word is declaring, stunningly, that you and I have the opportunity to proclaim Him. "The King will have all the attention." This is not how I live every moment of my day. I live scattered. I live divided at times. There will be a day however, that the King will have all the attention. We won't be torn. We'll be whole. This announcement from Paul that we can proclaim Him now is weighty sweet. We're practicing for what will ultimately come. No more divided heart. Whole hearts proclaiming Him. And the practicing for later has full bearing on today.

What a joyful announcement. He can have my attention. Not a routine. Not a tradition. Because of His work and movement in us, this proclaiming is something we are doing, not "routining". The proclaiming is impacting our soul. And this proclaiming we are doing is not renegade. It's tied to Him. The proclaiming is Christ centered. Christ focussed. Pause to take in this expansive joy today. You get to proclaim Him. Not the dead script of something that is merely routine. An "alive today" proclaiming your attention to the King. Amidst the myriad of distracting, confusing, contradicting data bytes, this Christ focus is an expansive vaccine to my pandemic soul.

"So we may present everyone perfect in Christ". Wait. Only God can do that. Yes. However, let the stunning continue. He is involving us in His expansive heart for the preparation of His bride. Those in Christ are already positionally perfect, but under preparation to be presented that way on the Day. Paul is laboring with all of His God given strength to love humanity and add to the beauty of Christ with his life. And us! Us too! Yes. We're included. We can labor with all of our God given strength to enhance the beauty of Christ in His ever increasing bride. This pandemic is hard. Really hard. But let it take its place behind the co-laboring partnership of God and His people.

I love how God's words speak. How is this labor described? "Struggling with all HIS ENERGY, which so powerfully works in me", Paul says. I want to scream this out! Paul KNOWS that God is at work in Him. He is not "routining". He is living. He is laboring hard with all the energy of God at work in Him. All the energy of God. No idea, no formula, no vaccine, no gathered amount of resources of collective human fanciness even comes close. All the energy of God weaving with Jeremy and Trey and Emma. Woven with you. I wish I could express this depth.

His energy and my attention. Gutsy, heavenly amalgamation.

Unheard of. Listen for it.

I want it.

There's more.