Run ons…..

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints-“

                                                      Colossians 1:3-4

Run on sentences.  Apparently I have a problem in this area.  I try to be aware as I write but punctuation seems annoying when I am expounding on a thought.  All those commas, semi-colons, periods and ampersands (does anyone even know what that is) just seem to disrupt the flow of free thought.  I struggle with structure sometimes.  You might have discerned that already.   I do exercise some self-restraint by editing.  I always edit.  Can you tell?  Wink.

With Colossians 1:3 we face our first encounter with Paul and his proclivity with run on sentences.  In fact, Paul was a run on professional.  Not sure he even used punctuation.  He would often combine so many different thoughts in one sentence stream that it could make a reader’s eyes bulge and brain explode.  Don’t even let me visualize for you what memorizing those verses might look like.

But brilliant man he was.  Without his letters much of the New Testament would be unknown to us.  So we plow through his words hoping to get a glimpse of the beauty and hugeness of the God that compelled him to write and that draws us, amazes us and enthralls us.  My heart’s desire is to grasp a fraction of the God that Paul knew and worshiped through the memorization of Colossians.  I believe that would mark my life forever.

Colossians 1:3 begins one of his lengthy discourses.  It spans all the way to verse 6a.  My research tells me that Ephesians 1:3-14 is Paul’s longest sentence in all of scripture.  No worries regarding memorization.  This passage should be a piece of cake by comparison.   The Word Biblical Commentary mentions Bujard’s (a Biblical scholar) observation regarding Paul’s run on’s.  “In his stylistic analysis, (he) considered that there was no logical progression of thought, but rather an association of ideas” in his rather lengthy sentences.  I can relate.  Hard to understand and near impossible to memorize. 

But is Paul emphasizing one particular point in this sentence?  I believe that he is and that point is thankfulness.  Paul’s letters always carried an underlying aroma of thankfulness.  What was he most thankful for here?  The Colossian’s faith in Christ evidenced by their love for one another.  Paul was thankful for the gospel.  He understood it with the fullness that it brings and he was thankful for those that believed it also. 

It just occurred to me that I might have left out an important note regarding the background of this writing.  What is the state that Paul is in when he is penning this letter?  Is he on a mountaintop musing great spiritual truths?  Perhaps he is nestled in a warm safe home discussing biblical insights with his disciples?  Ahem.  Neither.  He is in prison.  Paul thankfulness for what Christ has done for him transcends even his earthy situations.  He is still thankful.  The prize of Christ is worth far more than any suffering for His name. Paul is thankful for the gospel.  Plain and simple.  Makes me think that there must be much more to this than just saying a prayer and securing my eternal salvation. 

The truth of the gospel and its long reaching effects sunk into the marrow of Paul’s bones so that he lived and breathed it and through this letter he wants the Colossians to grasp these truths as well.  Paul is going to expound in depth through the course of this letter the specifics of these long reaching effects.  He wants them to know that every thing they need they already possess and when they truly embrace this truth, their only response would be, could be, is “thank you”.  The gospel is sufficient.  Jesus is sufficient.

I confess I am not there yet.  But I trust in the work of God through His holy writ to transform me.  This is a raw moment with you all so if you can’t handle raw moments than turn away.  My physical circumstances have been elevated above my spiritual standing.  I have been moved by life and not by my life in Christ.  I seem to think that my life consists in what I see rather than what I don’t.  It’s about what I have to accomplish rather than what has already been accomplished in me and for me.  I have some relearning to do. 

Paul wrote run on sentences but it was because he could not contain the wonder and mystery and magnitude of what Christ has done.  May we so grasp the fullness of what Christ has accomplished on our behalf as we meditated on the truths found in Colossians that our response could only culminate in a flurry of run on sentences as well.

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

                                                                   Philippians 4:12-14