Two weeks ago in Colossians, we talked about taking off our old clothes (metaphor); anger, wrath, malice, etc., and putting on our new clothes; a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, love, and peace. As you look over your last two weeks, which “clothes” have you been wearing? Let’s move on :).
The last verse we read but didn’t discuss much was verse 15 of chapter 3: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.” Notice three things in this verse: 1) peace, 2) unity, and 3) thankfulness. I know a Christian couple that has been going through a difficult struggle for the last three years. The wife has cancer. If God doesn’t perform a miracle, she will be going home to be with the Lord. As I watched them for the last three years, I have seen a peace that transcends all understanding. I have seen them be so thankful in even in the little things. And, I have seen the body of Christ unified around them. This couple has lived out chapter 3 of Colossians. This doesn’t mean that it has been easy for them – it hasn’t. But the Spirit of Christ inside of them is controlling them as they seek things above, even in the midst of a broken world.
However, during that same time, I have seen many other believers, including myself at times, worry about the littlest of things. I have seen people who love Jesus Christ bicker with other Christians over the dumbest of things. And, I have also seen people always wanting more and not being thankful for the things they have. It is sad to say, but sometimes worry, disunity, and un-thankfulness, are seen much more than peace, unity, and thankfulness, in the Body of Christ. How can we constantly wear “the good clothes” and keep “the bad clothes off”? Well, I don’t think verse 16 is next by accident:
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Paul gives another present tense (ongoing) command “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you”. I like how author Curtis Vaughan explained this verse in his commentary on Colossians: “Thus we are to submit to the demands of the Christian message and let it become so deeply implanted within us as to control all our thinking” (p.216). It begs us to ask ourselves “What is controlling our thinking?” Warren Wiersbe believes many people can’t say the word of Christ controls them: “Many saved people cannot honestly say that God’s Word dwells in their hearts richly because they do not take time to read, study, and memorize it” (The Bible Exposition Commentary 2, p.140). When the word of Christ richly dwells in us, we can teach and admonish one another while being full of thankfulness in our hearts to God. And this goes back to verse one and two – set your minds on things above and not on things of the earth! See you next week.