I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
The indication here is that Paul had a hard time writing himself. Elsewhere he references his big writing. This could have been because his eyesight was poor at this stage of his life. So he dictated most of this book to a scribe. His point is that they matter immensely to him. Writing with his own hand acts as a seal of sorts to the book, so there would be no questioning the authorship.
So he saved two important things to write to them personally, for the end. First, he wants them to remember his chains! This is not a call to vengeance on those who imprisoned him. Instead, it is a call to keep the faith, to stand strong and true to the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. In reality, Paul allowed the trials and persecution to happen without resistance, because it was God’s will that he meet many people as he was being held unjustly and some of those would follow Jesus.
Paul wanted the Colossian church to stand on the truth of the Bible, in perilous times, for the building of their faith and in honor of him.
Who do I live in honor of in my life? For me, it is, many times, my mom. She persevered through the trials of cancer and trusted God to give her ability and strength to minister to Cambodians while in hardship and pain. And in doing this, she was a great model of faithfulness to so many. She passed away when I was 14. Much of my service work is in honor of first God, but then her memory.
Finally, Paul sends grace to them. Grace is so important, especially in situations where conflict, challenges in leadership, and spiritual attacks have happened. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10) Paul wants them to focus on the grace given them and in turn become grace-dispensers to each other. They are spiritual masterpieces of God and need to have confidence to stand and serve!
Lord, thank you for Paul, and for his deep heart of love for the Colossians. He really loved them deeply and would do anything he could to encourage and support them. Teach me to be an increasingly better lover of people each day!
The Apostle Paul, the heart of a Shepherd. He loved, taught by word and example, and protected the flock. Theologian, Preacher, Worker, Shepherd, Martyr. What a life in Christ!