What are you known for?

I shared this thought the other night at dinner, and I wanted to record and refine it. As we are working our way through the book of Colossians on Sunday mornings I was particularly struck by chapter 1 vs. 4&5a "for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints because of the hope reserved for you in heaven." 

This church had garnered a reputation. They were known for something. Look at what Paul is saying here "for we have HEARD of your faith in Christ Jesus..."  Paul isn't writing this from personal experience. He didn't visit them, or plant the church there. Epaphras came to know Christ in Ephesus and upon returning to his hometown because of his excitement and passion for Christ planted this congregation in Colossae. Paul has heard of their faith and love in Christ, he has heard of their love for all the saints and offers up this prayer for them and pens this letter of encouragement to them.

The question is this, we are all known for something. What are you known for? It's a simple question one which we should all ask ourselves, are we building a reputation of faith and obedience or are we more worried about what the world has to think about us?

What about your church? I know many of you are a part of our faith family here in Islamorada but many others reading this are in other places, other faith families. What is your church known for? Is it known for its love and readiness to reach its community for Christ or is it known more as a social club where outsiders are tolerated but rarely accepted?

What would our world look like if our people concerned themselves with building a reputation of a people in a passionate love relationship with God and our churches had a reputation for loving their communities and adapting ministries to meet needs?

Just a few thoughts I had this week...See you guys Sunday!