Colossians 3:1-11 (NRSV)
Read Colossians 3:1-11 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 3So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Verse 2Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, Verse 3for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Verse 4When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
Verse 5Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). Verse 6On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. Verse 7These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life.
Verse 8But now you must get rid of all such things-anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Verse 9Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices Verse 10and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. Verse 11In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!
Devotion
A pastor and a friend in our synod died this past May. He loved the people of the congregation he served and was most content in helping them understand what a relationship with God was all about. Toward the end of his struggle with cancer we were talking about his favorite stories from the Bible. His immediate answer was Luke's story of the loving father and the renegade son. His reason was simple: the image of being separated from the one who loves you unconditionally is the most vivid description of Hell.
Paul offers what seems to be a laundry list of inappropriate moral behaviors. However, there is a key word that helps us understand what Paul is trying to teach. He talks about greed as idolatry. Anything that stands in the way of our being in relationship to God or the neighbor amounts to separation. I now think about my own actions and possessions and wonder which ones of these are creating distance from those who love me.
Prayer
God of love, help us give up those habitual actions that distance us from you or our neighbor. Help us see neither Jew nor Greek, or any other label or class designation that clouds our sight, or leads us to believe that we are above anyone else. Amen.