Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Every morning I write out my list of plans for that day on a notepad. I have Proverbs 16:3 in the heading of my list of tasks for the day, which says, “Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.” I commit my intended plans for each day to God each morning, as He will establish what lies ahead of me for that day. But this verse has made me reflect throughout my day in questioning myself, am I doing this in the name of the Lord Jesus? Would He be pleased? That played a part of myself needing verbal restraints in my frustration over resolving an error this week, on my Verizon bill. It ended up taking slightly over two hours over the phone to get corrected. That was very unexpected and I gave a yelp and holler out loud of “thank you Jesus!” when it finally was accomplished! It took three different employees in getting the needed correction!
There are 100 Bible verses related to what is called “Good Deeds” that Paul is teaching about in Colossians 3:17. Four of them are the following, and give food for thought:
- 1 Peter 2:12, “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” We need to maintain our integrity against Satan’s attacks in his strategy against our personality, emotions, and our will power.
- 2 Timothy 4:14, “Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.” Ah yes, holy justice! All of us will have an Alexander in our life. Wearing a deep shade of bitter is never attractive. God is our overseer and balances the scales in the end.
- Matthew 5:15, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Jesus worked in such a way that He did not draw attention or glory to Himself, but only to His Father.
- Ephesians 2:8-10, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” You may feel you are not very impressive but God does not need duplicates. You are a living example and picture of His workmanship.
Good deeds, showing acts of kindness, give evidence of our salvation. The Amplified Bible states Colossians 3:17 this way, “Whatever you do [no matter what it is] in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus [and in dependence on Him], giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Due to the pandemic, most of my workday involves verbal communication, either over the phone or via text messages and emails, rather than seeing people in person. Nonverbal communication, such as body language, posture, hand gestures, facial expressions, is not visible. So my words are significant and essential in communicating the intended action I expect to happen. My written comments have to be concise, not too lengthy, and precise in my communication. There have been times when misinterpretations have resulted which I had not intended. We all have not so great days. But if my attitude was responding in full obedience to Christ, as Colossians 3:17 teaches, how would that look differently? It requires learning the art of listening intently to what the other person is saying and having what is called emotional intelligence. Then pausing to quickly pray for the right words of wisdom the Holy Spirit has for the right response, in the precisely fitting word or deed to say or do in the situation. I need to quickly pause and pray and ask to be given those apple of gold words and deeds more consistently.
Doing things in the name of the Lord Jesus requires all words, deeds of action, all undertakings, needing to have this mindset. This will then give perseverance in life’s demanding situations because I (you) are doing them in the name of the Lord Jesus. As a Christ follower, a born again Christian, we are His representative to others. That is where true contentment in life is found – because of Jesus and nothing less. That intention is the solution.
Listen to Natalie Grant – In The End (Official Music Video). February 21, 2020.