Read
1 You have been raised to life with Christ. Now set your heart on what is in heaven, where Christ rules at God's right side. 2Think about what is up there, not about what is here on earth. 3You died, which means that your life is hidden with Christ, who sits beside God. 4Christ gives meaning to your life, and when he appears, you will also appear with him in glory.
5Don't be controlled by your body. Kill every desire for the wrong kind of sex. Don't be immoral or indecent or have evil thoughts. Don't be greedy, which is the same as worshiping idols. 6God is angry with people who disobey him by doing these things. 7And this is exactly what you did, when you lived among people who behaved in this way. 8But now you must stop doing such things. You must quit being angry, hateful, and evil. You must no longer say insulting or cruel things about others. 9 And stop lying to each other. You have given up your old way of life with its habits.
10 Each of you is now a new person. You are becoming more and more like your Creator, and you will understand him better. 11It doesn't matter if you are a Greek or a Jew, or if you are circumcised or not. You may even be a barbarian or a Scythian, and you may be a slave or a free person. Yet Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
Reflect
Paul is showing the Colossians how much richer they are than they realize. In Christ they have found everything that the human heart truly desires – freedom from the burden of sin and of course “life in its fullest” (John 10:10). The call then is to focus our lives heavenwards and not on the things of this world that drag us back to our miserable origins. The call is onwards and upwards and to let the main thing be the main thing.
The challenge of course is that the old life still beckons. How are we to fend off the old temptations? Paul does not mince his words. Have nothing to do with those things. As a recovering alcoholic has to cut himself off from access to the source of his temptation we are to avoid the things which once dominated our lives. We are to be ruthless in this. We are to kill the thoughts and actions which offend God. Just say No. Of course we are not alone in this. The Holy Spirit lives within us, reminding, checking and empowering us to resist the old sinful instincts.
In Christ, we have in fact become a new person. The old person died when we turned our back on sin and invited Jesus to be our Lord and Saviour. As new people we have a God orientation and a desire to become more like our heavenly Father. They say that a dog and its master eventually start to look like each other. So too, do we begin more and more to resemble our Father in heaven as we seek to emulate him and make him happy with the way we choose to live our lives.
Respond
Father God, In and through Jesus you have given me so much. The old corrosive practices in my life no longer have sway over me. By the power of the Holy Spirit help me to live victoriously in this new reality. Help me today to be focused heavenwards, living like you and seeking to please you in all that I do and think. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Rob Cornish
Rob grew up in Southern Africa, meeting SU at camps and clubs in his childhood. He worked as a Chartered Accountant, then SU. Rob and family moved to Canada in 1991 to work with SU, becoming Canadian Director until 1997 when he left to build a financial advisory practice with a bank until retiring recently. Rob and Cheryl work as volunteers in welcoming immigrants to Canada, showing them the love of Jesus, so that they may know and understand the gospel.