A Reflection on Colossians 2

There is a hunger in the human heart that religion alone cannot satisfy. You can attend every service, memorize every scripture, and master every doctrine — and still find yourself spiritually dry, confused, and disconnected. The apostle Paul understood this tension deeply. Writing to the church at Colossae, he laid out a picture of spiritual growth that is less about systems and more about relationship — a living, breathing, ever-deepening connection with Jesus Christ.

Colossians 2 offers us a map. Not a rigid chart of requirements, but an organic picture of how a life in Christ actually develops. And at the center of that map is not a checklist — it is a Person. Paul asked the Romans pointedly: “But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?” (Romans 10:14, NLT). The journey into spiritual growth always begins with a message received — but it does not end there.

Step One: You Hear the Word

Everything begins with hearing. Before anything else can happen in a person’s spiritual life, the message of Jesus must reach them — the story of who He is, what He came to do, and why it matters. This is the gospel in its most essential form: that God, in His love, entered human history in the person of Jesus Christ, lived a perfect life, died an atoning death in our place, and rose again, defeating sin and death once and for all.

Paul reminds the Colossians that they received Christ Jesus as Lord (Col. 2:6, NLT). The word “received” implies something given and accepted — a message proclaimed and a heart opened. This first step is not yet transformation; it is invitation. Someone teaches. Someone preaches. Someone shares their story. And in those moments, a seed is planted.

Step Two: You Accept His Redeeming Work for Yourself

Hearing is not enough on its own. At some point, the message moves from the ears to the heart — from information to transformation. This is the moment of salvation, what many call being “born again.” It is the moment a person looks at the cross and says, “That was for me.”

This is a deeply personal step. No one can make it for you, and no tradition or denomination can substitute for it. Jesus’ atoning work — the forgiveness of sin, the reconciliation with God, the gift of new life — must be personally received and personally embraced. This is the entry point into the Kingdom, the beginning of a brand new story.

But as glorious and necessary as this moment is, it is not the destination. It is the doorway.

Step Three: You Dig Deep and Become Rooted — The Key

Here is where Paul puts his finger on the lynchpin of everything: “And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him” (Col. 2:6-7, NLT). The word “rooted” is a farming metaphor. A plant with shallow roots looks fine in good weather, but the moment drought or storm comes, it cannot survive. Deep roots, however, anchor the plant and draw nourishment from sources invisible to the eye.

What does it mean to be rooted in Christ? It means cultivating a genuine, daily, living relationship with Him. Not merely attending church. Not simply knowing about Him. Not performing spiritual disciplines as an end in themselves. It means actually communing with Him — in prayer, in His Word, in silence, in worship, in obedience, in surrender. It means letting your life become increasingly organized around Him rather than around your own plans and preferences. 

This is the step that many believers skip, or skim past too quickly. We can become very busy “for” God while becoming very distant “from” God. We can substitute activity for intimacy, doctrine for devotion, and knowledge for knowing. But Paul is clear: the root of it all is relationship. Personal, authentic, growing relationship with Jesus Himself.

Step Four: What You Were Taught Becomes Wisdom

Something remarkable happens when you are truly rooted in relationship with Christ: the things you were taught begin to make sense in a new way. The scriptures open up. The principles you heard years ago suddenly carry weight and meaning. Theology stops being abstract and starts being alive.

This is the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is information stored in the mind. Wisdom is understanding born out of experience and relationship. You can know that God is faithful as a doctrinal fact, but you come to understand it as wisdom only when you have walked through a season of difficulty and watched Him come through. Relationship is the soil in which teaching becomes wisdom.

Paul says that in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3, NLT). The treasures are there — but they are accessed through Him, not merely through study of Him.

The Lynchpin: Relationship, Not Religion

It bears repeating, because it runs so contrary to how we often approach our faith: the central thing is not doctrine, not systems, not ritual, and not head knowledge. The central thing is your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Everything else — every growth, every fruit, every piece of wisdom, every act of service — flows from that relational core.

Paul warns the Colossians against being taken captive through “empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense” (Col. 2:8, NLT) — systems of thought and religious performance that have the appearance of wisdom but lack connection to Christ as the Head (also see 1 Tim 3:5). This warning is just as relevant today. We live in an age of spiritual information overload. There is no shortage of teachings, podcasts, books, or frameworks. But information without intimacy produces pride, not fruit.

An Ongoing, Organic Process

It is important to understand that this process is not a one-time progression you complete and then graduate from. It is a continual, lifelong journey. Relationships deepen over time — and sometimes, in seasons of neglect or hardship, they require tending and renewal. There will be seasons of extraordinary closeness to God and seasons of dryness. There will be moments of crystal-clear revelation and stretches of waiting in the dark.

This is normal. It is the rhythm of a living relationship. What matters is that you keep returning to the root — keep coming back to Him, keep cultivating the connection, keep choosing relationship over religion. 

The goal was never to arrive. The goal is to abide.

A Final Word

If you find yourself spiritually stagnant, or if the faith that once felt alive has grown routine, the answer is rarely more information. The answer is almost always a return to the relational core — to honest, unhurried time with Jesus. Let Him speak. Let His Word work in you. Let the roots go deeper.

Everything else will follow.

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Based on Colossians 2