13You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

16So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. 17For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.  Colossians 2:13-17

Jesus is the reality that is to come. But He is also present for you now. When we come to Jesus we enter into a reality that was hidden from us by death. Separation from God infects our mind and even our life with death. Deadness is a separation from reality. The Gospel declares that according to the Scripture Jesus was born, lived, died, was buried, and was raised from the dead for the forgiveness of our sins.

Reality as God sees it is to be full of life. A part of Christ Jesus we do get to enjoy a lot of life: food, drink, holy-days,  and celebrations. But these are not THE Reality God has in mind for us in and of themselves. The Apostle Paul shows the Church in Collesea that these good foods and celebrations connect people with their appetites and  longings for satisfaction, for rest, for new beginnings that are only fully realized in Jesus Christ!

So eat. So celebrate. But look always for this reality: Jesus Christ is your life and your victory over death. He is your new beginning.