This morning I felt led to read from Colossians.
Colossians 3:1-3, 5-10 NIV
[1] "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. [2] Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. [3] For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."
[5] "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. [6] Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. [7] You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. [8] But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. [9] Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices [10] and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator."
As I read through these verses, verse 3 really grabbed my attention. How could it not - "I have died"?
This is true in Christ, yet so very difficult to grasp. We have been united with Christ, made part of His Body and, as such, welcomed into His reality, and made beneficiaries of His atonement. He died - we died. He rose from the dead - we rose from the dead. He lives eternally - we will live eternally. All because we said yes to His invitation to believe in Him, and accept His sacrifice into our life. This is true. This is reality.
Our struggle is to grasp this and live this reality. Walking this out in our lives takes effort on our part, for it requires us to allow the spiritual reality to take precedence over our flesh and mind. This reality is true in our spirits, but our minds and bodies take some convincing. This is especially true for those who grew up in the non-spiritual western mind-set.
We must put to death whatever belongs to our earthly nature - those things that feed the flesh, but wound the spirit. Putting to death (which in the Greek could be translated kill, or deprive the strength of...) those things that we once walked in.
I like how Paul says it in verse 7 - "You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived." For example, if you used to be in the military, but now are a civilian, you can stop living like you are in the military, for that is a life you once lived, but no longer. You don't need to salute, you don't have guard duty, you don't have to fold your clothes a certain way, or shine your shoes, or any number of military life requirements. The same example could be used if you used to lived in another country and culture. Those cultural norms, and ways of acting and living applied to the life you used to live, not your 'new' life.
We can choose to live within our new 'life' or reality, or we can choose to live like nothing has changed. In this case, Paul reminds us that it is our choice to rid ourselves of, or throw away those things from our 'old' life. If we can grasp the reality that we have died (if we are united to Christ) and these things no longer have hold of us, we can freely choose to live differently. We can walk away from our old life.
I recently saw "Les Misarables" and this is what Jean Valjean did, he walked away from his 'old' life and chose to become someone new. His changed his whole attitude, thoughts and actions. He was no longer a prisoner who hated, and stole, and barely survived. He chose to love, do good, forgive and live for others.
This is our invitation, to walk away from our 'old life', to become the new person we are in Christ. Amen! Help us Lord to live our 'new' lives fully.
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