Colossians 4

This chapter raises a lot of interesting questions. Why is slavery not contested? Why doesn't verse one say to set them free? And where is the letter to Laodicea?

First of all, I think the slavery thing expresses how I feel about some of the social injustice going on today. Instead of trying to get the government to intercede and pass laws against things that aren't right, I think the Bible actually seems to encourage us to just do the right thing ourselves and love and care for the people who we disagree with. For example, instead of getting fever-pitch mad about changing abortion laws, I think a more biblical kind of activism would be what my friend Courtney has done. She coordinates the provision of "all things baby" that a young, confused, terrified, needy woman might need to help her make the choice to give her baby a chance at life. I think our "Master in heaven" would be much more pleased with her than with a pit-bull lobbyist who does nothing to help the mothers she condemns.

By the way, I do think slavery is shameful and wrong. And if you aren't aware, is still going strong across the world as young children disappear into prostitution rings and may never see the free light of day again.

About the missing letter, for some reason, I suspect that God knows what He's doing and all of the letter that were supposed to survive to be included in the Bible have been. He certainly had the means to preserve that one if it was worth reading today. Still, it does fill out the picture of Paul. Not everything he wrote was "God breathed" evidently. Makes him a bit more human.