Thursday 1 February 2007

Today we continue in Colossians and include the previous two days of text from chapter 3.

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. (3:1) Set you minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. (3:2-4)
Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. But now you must get rid of all such things - anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all! (3:5-11)

As Christ is our life - that is as Christ has made us a new people by freely giving us new life - all the other excuses for life can be let go. The first list of what is "earthly" really has to do with how we work for ourselves and try to make life for ourselves. The center of the universe is me or my own. In that kind of existence we will do anything and be anything in order to secure life and to make something of life for me and my own alone. This is sin. This is that turned-in-on-self that makes us work so hard to put a life together - or - an illusion of life. This first list is a list of our own doing. It is our life when we do not take hold of the life that the Spirit hands us in Christ. The wrath of God becomes the life that keeps walking away from the truth of the Good News and keeps attempting to make life happen. I like to say that God never, ever leaves us...but we do a great job of walking off on our own - thinking we can really make a new life on our own. This self-centered life...is idolatry and we all take part in this back-turning life. When we turn from our God and face the life we try to create - a kind of hell (absence of God) along the way - our desperate lives will do anything to stay alive and come out as a winner over others. And...with this...the brokenness becomes deeper and we move farther from the one who promises to hand us a gracious abundance of life. Remember that this text really needs to be viewed as a lesson about what we are missing - what life - what a gift - what a freedom-ringing existence for all. Do get caught up in what sound frightening...get caught up in that the promise brings.

Connection: The day is handed to us for life - life that comes when God's love and grace has a power to change all things. There will be many times when we will convince ourselves that this power is not good enough and we can come up with a better way to get through the day. Prayerfully...think again.

By your mercy, O God, you do not let our ways and our manners and our self-centered agendas rule us. You keep breaking in. You continue to bring the power of your Spirit upon us to rattle us and save us. You tickle us with the unbelievable and yet real power of your love. Praise to you, O Love of our Lives. Amen.