Paul's letter to the Colossians is one of my favorite letters found in the New Testament. This letter is underappreciated in my opinion. For me, this letter addresses some of the toughest challenges we have as Christians in our western culture. The letter addresses gnosticism (been around forever, but repackaged recently as The Secret), our identity (why don't we talk about this in the church?), and religion as idol.
One of the main themes (if not the main theme) in this letter is defining who Christ is, who we are in light of who Christ is and how we are to live in light of who we are in Christ. Some might claim this is actually three themes, but I would argue that these three are parts of a whole that can't be separated.
Too often, we approach the Bible looking for the "what". What am I supposed to do? What am I not supposed to do? When we do this we minimize our faith to a legalistic morality. I am not sure how you can take the Bible as a whole and imagine that this is the primary message God wants to communicate through His Word.
Instead, we must begin with the "why". Why should I live the way the Bible instructs me to live? What is my motivation? Colossians (and the Bible as a whole) begins with who God is and then defines who we are (identity) in relation to who God is and only then does it move on to discuss the implications of this. Think about the stories of Adam and Eve, Moses, Abraham, Peter, Paul, and yes, even Mary.
The NIV has headlined Colossians chapter 3 as "Rules for Holy Living". I believe this is evidence of our tendency to jump to the question of "what am I supposed to do" instead of starting with the motivation or who we are in relation to who God is. I believe a more accurate title for this chapter would be "Characteristics of a Holy Life". This reflects the importance of God's redeeming and sanctifying work in our lives as opposed to the idolatrous idea that somehow we can make ourselves holy buy following a list of rules.
4 comments:
Hi Todd,
I just discovered your blog. Why can't I do an RSS feed?
Jon Odom
PS- Emily and I are coming home for a visit from April 12-27... hope to see you!
I haven't read the Shack, but I was unaware it was proposing gnosticism.
I think part of our rush into application is one of the downfalls of evangelicalism of a generation ago. We take moral stands and fight for morality in our culture w/o really asking the question of who we are in relationship with God. The Bible became a "guide to life" (remember the song Basic Instructions?) and not the cosmic story of God and humanity.
I had written "The Shack" when I meant "The Secret". Thanks for catching it, correction made.
And, thanks for the comment!
You really need to read Colossians Remixed by Brian J. Walsh and Sylvia C. Keesmaat. Not 100% agreeing with them, but a lot of good stuff.
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