Omission and Commission

Just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. (Colossians 2:6)

When a Christian turns from following Jesus, or when the flame is burning low in their life, we normally wonder what that person has done to cause this. We look for ‘actions’.

However, there is one question that is not normally asked. It is this, “What has that person been failing to do?” You see, it’s not just a case of ‘commission’ but of ‘omission’.

We can blame someone’s backsliding on spending excessive amounts of time on Social media, but the problem doesn’t just lie in what they are doing but what they are not doing. What is being neglected as they sit hour after hour, night after night in front of a screen? What things of eternal importance and significance are slowly sliding away and being replaced by things of no eternal significance. Times alone with God become shorter then non-existent; Bible reading becomes less frequent until the Book is never opened; looking outward to others in need takes a back seat and even church attendance wanes. Pearls are being displaced by paltry pleasures.

Our verse today reminds us that once we start to follow Jesus, we 'must continue to follow him'. Jesus must never be ‘omitted’ form our lives. We must never underestimate the power of sins of omission.

We are reminded in Proverbs 4:23:
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“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

Is there something that you need to build back in to your life as you follow Jesus? Don’t wait another day in doing it.

“Not only our actions, but also our omissions, become our destiny.” Abraham Verghese

​Pauline Anderson