Let the Church Be the Church: Faith, Love, and Hope That the World Can See
What should people actually see when they walk into a church? Not just a program or a performance, but something real. Colossians 1:3-5 gives us a clear picture of what a thriving church looks like, and it comes down to three things: faith, love, and hope.
What Does a Healthy Church Actually Look Like?
After stepping aside from 40 years of pastoral ministry, there was an opportunity to visit many churches, sometimes preaching, sometimes simply attending. That experience raised an important question: not what a visitor ought to find in a church, but what they should see.
The answer comes from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church at Colossae. In Colossians 1:3-5, Paul writes:
“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.” – Colossians 1:3-5
Paul was moved to pray for this church because of what he heard about them. Their faith, love, and hope were visible enough that word reached him in a Roman jail. That is the kind of church God calls us to be.
Why Did Paul Pray for the Church at Colossae?
Before getting to the three big themes, it is worth noticing the nature of Paul’s prayer itself. It was collective, frequent, and filled with thanksgiving.
Paul did not pray for individuals in isolation. He prayed for the church together, much like the model prayer Jesus gave His disciples in Matthew 6, which uses “our,” “us,” and “we” throughout. Prayer for the church is meant to be a shared, corporate act.
Paul also prayed with a Spirit of gratitude. The church at Colossae was a church plant, and not all church plants succeed. This one did. Epaphras had traveled roughly 100 miles from Colossae to Ephesus, and the gospel had taken root. That alone was worth celebrating.
What Provoked Paul to Pray? Their Faith in Christ Jesus
Paul says He heard of their faith in Christ Jesus. This was not passive belief. It was faith that showed up in action.
Hebrews 11 gives us two clear examples:
- “By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain.” – Hebrews 11:4
- “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance.” – Hebrews 11:8
Abraham did not know where he was going. He simply trusted God and took the first step. That is faith demonstrated by action.
James reinforces this point directly:
“Even so, faith, if it has not works, is dead, being by itself.” – James 2:17
How Does Your Faith Show Up in Everyday Life?
Faith is visible. It shows up in how we talk, how we spend time in God’s Word, how we treat our spouses and children, and how we carry ourselves with integrity and honesty. Proverbs 12:10 even says that a righteous person cares for the life of their animal. People notice. Faith that is real cannot stay hidden.
What Else Provoked Paul to Pray? Their Love for One Another
Epaphras must have told Paul something remarkable about how the believers in Colossae treated each other. That love moved Paul to pray.
When someone comes to faith in Jesus, the God of love takes up residence in their heart. It changes things. Jesus said it plainly:
“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”– John 13:35
And again in John 7:38:
“He who believes in me, as the scripture said, from his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.” – John 7:38
Is Love One of Our Best Evangelism Strategies?
Among all the evangelistic strategies a church can implement, one of the most powerful is simply loving each other well. People are drawn to genuine love. It is a witness that does not require a program or a platform.
The New Testament is full of “one another” commands: love one another, pray for one another, honor one another, submit to one another. These are not suggestions. They are the marks of a community shaped by the gospel.
Love also needs to be communicated. It shows up in learning someone’s name, in a warm handshake, in a genuine embrace. People need to know they are loved, not just assumed to be.
The Third Provocation: Their Hope in Heaven
Paul also heard about their hope. Colossians 1:5 says their faith and love were rooted in “the hope laid up for you in heaven.”
Hope is not wishful thinking. For the believer, hope is a confident expectation grounded in what Jesus has promised. Jesus told His disciples in John 14 that He was going to prepare a place for them. He taught about His return. Paul expanded on this in his letter to Titus, writing about “our blessed hope.” And John, writing in Revelation, described the wedding supper of the Lamb, the second coming of Christ, the millennial kingdom, and the new Jerusalem.
Why Does Christian Hope Matter for the Church Today?
The church at Colossae was sharing this hope with one another, and it was contagious enough that Epaphras brought word of it back to Paul. That kind of hope changes how a community lives together.
Even the model prayer Jesus gave His disciples carries this forward-looking expectation. When we pray “Your kingdom come,” we are praying for His return. We are praying what the early church called “Maranatha,” come, Lord Jesus.
And Jesus connected that return to the mission of the church:
“This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” – Matthew 24:14
Our hope is not passive. It fuels our mission.
Life Application
The church at Colossae was known for three things that were visible to everyone around them: their faith, their love, and their hope. None of these were hidden. They were real, active, and contagious enough to reach the ears of the Apostle Paul.
This week, choose one of these three areas and make it visible in a specific way. Let your faith show up in a concrete action. Communicate love to someone in your church who may not feel seen. And share your hope with someone who needs it, whether that is a neighbor, a coworker, or someone in your own home.
Ask yourself:
- If someone were watching my life this week, would they see evidence of my faith in Jesus?
- Am I actively communicating love to the people in my church community, or am I assuming they already know?
- Does the hope I have in Christ actually shape the way I live and the way I talk about the future?
Let the church be the church. That starts with each of us.
