Relationships

Put it to death.

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5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Colossians 3:5-9

Growing with Jesus requires our agency; that’s by design. We participate in the new creation of our character so that it reflects Jesus Christ as Lord more and more often. Always in response to the grace of Jesus we activate the virtues of faith, hope, and love in our spiritual growth. Our life is hidden with Christ; what we are is not yet fully seen. The old nature will cover up our life with Him and the reality of grace unless we respond. We have died; we have been buried with Him in baptism; we and we been raised with Him to new life.

A new morality by God’s grace is available to us. But it requires our participation. “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you.” Putting the old nature to death is an act of faith, hope, and love. What is it going to take for you to break the habituated draw of the old nature of your life? How can we put it to death?

The old nature and its practices must be identified. Paul gives the Colossian Christians two lists so they can see what is inconsistent with the life of Christ. The lists are not exhaustive. But they do highlight two powerful and destructive types of habituated sin common to the old nature.

Sexuality immorality                      Anger
Impurity                                            Wrath
Passion                                               Malice
Evil desires                                        Slander
Covetousness- which is idolatry   Obscene talk

And then Paul identifies a third and related problem of the old nature: lying. Do not lie to one another. The old nature generates lies, especially in regard to the personal and social dynamics of sex, anger, and what we have said. Lying is a means of managing the guilt, shame, and fear. It has nothing to do with the spiritual dynamics required for putting the old nature to death.

Life and Death Divergence

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3For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Colossians 3:3

Our affections and heart will be drawn to something. The members of our body will be occupied by desires. For the believer in Christ Jesus the spiritual dynamics of our life are explained in aspects of life and of death.

Of death, the believer was dead in their sins.

Of death, the believer is now dead to sin.

This is not a renovation; Jesus has ushered us into a demolition.

But the demolition of the works of sin and death are animated from the interior occupation of the One who loved us and died for us, Jesus Christ the Lord.

Now our life is hidden with Christ, in God.

Hidden: Jesus the Crucified is enough to advocate for us.

Hidden: Jesus the Resurrected is enough to secure our life even in the face of ridicule, accusation, pressure, harassment, loss of wealth, or even death of the body from those who do not yet recognize Him or love Him as Lord.

Blessed are you!

Your life is hidden with Christ in God!

Combobulating the Discombobulated Soul

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1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

3For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.    Psalm 32:1-4

Sin discombobulates.

Funny word, but its no joke!

We may not like that reality and so we redefine and create our own coverups to the sometimes vague, sometimes distinct, sense of discomfort accompanying personal responsibility for our attitudes and actions toward God, people, and His Creation.

The Bible reveals God, holy and pure; who does see us and who does judge us. “Silence” (32:3) on the part of David was not about agreeing with God regarding the reality of his sin. David’s silence was an attempt to

void God,

avoid God,

and escape responsibility for his transgressions, iniquities, and deceit.

There was grace from God even in David’s withering soul-health. The heaviness of soul as a product of God’s judgement generated confession:

5I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity;

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”

and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.  Psalm 32:5

Thus David’s joyous beginning: Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

Praise God! “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13-14

With Jesus for the long-haul

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6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.  Colossians 2:6-7

In a short track race the way you start really matters. Its over in seconds and if you miss the start, stumble, or fall, the race will finish without you. Fortunately the Christian life is not that way!

The Christian life is not run in seconds. Its a lifetime and none of us start our life of faith with Jesus perfectly. In fact, we may begin with a limp, with the odds stacked against us, and as seemingly unlikely candidates for the family of God.

Paul’s vision of the Christian life is one in which we are living in Jesus’ grace by faith and for the long-haul. It begins with the work of God through the Gospel of Jesus and has a simple confession: Jesus Christ is Lord. But, it also has a vision of discipleship that might go like this:

“I’m so thankful! I have received a gift — Jesus Himself; Christ Jesus the Lord is the gift. He has firmly rooted me in His family; its done! Now there’s a lifetime of knowing Him available to me. I want to walk with Him daily and trust He will build me up with His church, establishing us in the faith so we are able to make Him known and enjoy God.”

 

 

Let love be genuine.

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9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10Love one another with brotherly affection. Out do one another in showing honor.   Romans 12:9-10

Love must be sincere.

Love must be without hypocrisy.

Love must be without a mask to hide behind.

Are you willing to love with your cracks showing?

Are you willing to sit long with Jesus till your view of a difficult  person is formed by love?

When there are cracks in your capacity to love will you meet Jesus for the grace to grow in love?

Life together with anyone has a way of revealing my incompetence at love. Scary as it is I’m finding this awareness of my love deficit is a gift. Must of us think we are pretty good at love and naturally deflect responsibility for our inadequacies. Our denial is expense and works to the detriment of ourselves, our families, our churches, our friends, and our communities.

If I hate the pain my deficiencies may cause another then I may choose humility and the reckless love of Christ at the Cross. Then I can invite all to dive deeper into His grace with me. But if I deny and refuse to acknowledge when I acted  without love or with a false love, then I perpetuate the deception ruling this world and actually join in — purposefully excluding God from my relationships.