Set your mind on things above

As my daughter wonderfully stated yesterday, the book of Colossians is a great reminder of the good news (gospel) and a warning about false teaching.  There were many “mystery schools” in the Roman Empire at the time most of which were of Greek origin.  It is likely that Paul is referring to one of these groups in Colossae.  The essence of the Gospel for Paul is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:1-3).  In perhaps a clever wordplay he states there is a “mystery that has been kept hidden for ages” and that is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col 1: 27) This is key to understanding Colossians 3 and all of Paul’s letters.  

The specific instructions Paul lays out in chapter 3 seem to grow out of the phrase “set your minds on things above, not on earthly things”.  It is tempting to look at the rest of the chapter as a sort of “to do” list for my life but there is a core message that underlies these instructions.  If Christ is “in us” then what else do we need?  If Christ is in us what else could be missing?  False teachings almost always tell us we need something or someone else.  We can have peace and be content in all things because Christ is in us!  (Philip. 4:12-13).  We can conquer all things because Christ is in us! (Romans 8: 37-39).  It is important that know our true identity in Christ in a growing living experiential awareness.  

The inner reality, Christ in us, does not always match our outer lives.  “For you died’, our old self is dead in Christ.  Yet in our outer daily lives we struggle to put sin to death and live a life of love, peace, and forgiveness.  There is a daily call to surrender, die, let go of our “old life” and to live out that which has already been made a reality in us.  This is purely grace - we didn’t put “Christ in us”, didn’t earn it, and certainly don’t deserve it.  The more I abide in this realization, the more peace, joy, and gratitude I experience in my life.  

Then we can turn our attention to our various roles in our lives as fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, bosses, employees, and every other role as Paul instructs us in the rest of the chapter.  How can we express Christ in us in our current roles?  

Grace and Peace to you.