From a Pastor
11Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. 12Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (Colossians 3:11-14 NIV)
“To say that this diverse group of people in the Colossian church -- Greek, Jew, circumcised, uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free -- are God’s chosen ones, literally God’s elect, is scandalous.
“The language of God’s chosen has its roots in the Old Testament: “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 7:6). This was foundational for Israel’s ethnic identity. The truth that the Lord promised their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he would make them a great nation, was intricately woven into their sense of who they were as a people. The Lord himself had chosen them out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his treasured possession. Understand this, please. We might blow by Paul’s words in Colossians 3:12 -- “God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved” -- but they were identity shattering words at the time.This was a radically new message delivered at a time before the internet existed. There were no planes, trains or automobiles. We live in the information age and it still takes a long time for people’s views to change. What about a perspective that had been in place for over a thousand years?
“This is why Paul’s declaration of the grounds for living the Christian life is so incredible. The uncircumcised don’t have to become circumcised. The Greek doesn’t have to become Jewish. The barbarian isn’t excluded because he fails to conform to cultural norms and practices. These boundaries were legitimate reasons people remained separated. What Paul is emphasizing to the Colossians, and by extension to us, is that the starting point for their practice as Christians was the recognition that, in all of their diversity, they stood before God in the same way as Israel. They didn’t choose God. He chose them. They weren’t holy because they were special and better than everybody else. They were holy because the Lord set his love upon them. Their life was to be grounded in the reality that they were the undeserving recipients of God’s abundant love.
“Notice Paul’s prescription in verse 12 for compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience and forgiveness -- these aren’t needed when everything is going great. They’re needed in the midst of discord. They’re needed when controversy looms and understanding runs dry. They’re needed when you’ve been hurt by somebody in the church, whether they intended to hurt you or not. The love we’re called to dress in as those who follow Christ is the glue of perfection. That’s what Paul says in verse 14. Above everything else, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect unity. The love we receive from God is impressed on our hearts. It’s what enables God’s people, who are holy and loved by him, to be tender towards one another in the most trying of times. It’s what enables us to ache in our guy for others the way we ache for ourselves when things aren’t well.”
[Excerpt taken from The Beautiful Community, by Irwyn L. Ince, Jr.]
I've really been enjoying this book lately, and found this fresh look at a familiar passage to be both timely and challenging. Hope you enjoyed it also!
-- Pastor G
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