There is a story circulating in
This person in the story realized that, after getting saved and baptized he could no longer live like the way he used to live in the past. In other words he had to be differently focused. What does it mean to be differently focused? There was a community in the Church of Colossae that had heard and received the Good News, and believers who had died and been raised again in Christian baptism, but were struggling to live out their new found faith. The writer Paul suggested to them that they were to be differently focused. We read it in Col 3:1-17, these seventeen verses contain practical suggestions in regards to how a born again Christian can live out his new found faith with a different focus than the one he or she once used to have.
Chapter three begins by appealing to all those who have been "raised with Christ," that is, born again or those who are newly born into God’s family. This new birth comes with certain responsibilities that believers must begin to shoulder. The author implores Colossians to do two things; In Vs1, “Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” In Vs2 “Set your minds on things above not on earthly things” When we combine these two verses we get, “Set your hearts and minds on things above, not on earthly things.” In other words they should stop doing what they were used to do in their sinful state and cultivate a new life style by focusing not so much on the earthly things but on things above. He goes on to say why? The reason is that they have died to sin and their life now is hidden in Christ."
What powerful words are these: “We are dead to sin and our life is now hidden in Christ.” What do they mean? Since our true life is hidden above with the heavenly Christ it is expected of us that we must channel our mental and physical energies into seeking this hidden life above. In other words we must realize that, though we live in the world we are not of the world. We are citizens of heaven with a different set of values and focus. Paul explains how we can change our focus and what a life that is differently focused looks like.
I. CHANGING OUR FOCUS (Vs 5-9)
Susan is a good
For Susan, sin is everywhere. And she is the first among sinners. The one who most needs to confess ... again ... and again ... and again.
She figured she was the only one who had this condition - viewing the world through a sharp and precise moral prism, seeing sin in every situation, and magnifying transgressions whenever they surfaced. But she is not alone. In fact there are a vast many who suffer from this very thing. Clinical psychologists have given her obsession a name. They call it the scrupulosity obsession or the “doubting disease." One time or another we all may have suffered with this obsession.
At first glance, Vs 5-8 might seem like an invitation to scrupulosity. “Put to death," he commands, "whatever belongs to your earthly nature: “sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That is a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It is because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger.” (The Message)
Paul's not finished. "But now you must get rid of all such things as these: “bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.” Get rid of all such things or Strip yourself of all such sins and polluting practices. Begin to live an authentic Christian life, removing from yourself all the trappings of your old life. These Scriptures seem to play right into the struggle that many of us are trying to escape, legalism that says, don’t do this, don’t do that, you better watch out God might explode in anger. So, what does this mean for us? Are we to focus constantly on the above mentioned list of sins? Or are we to live a life of constant introspection, relentlessly obsessing over every one of our motivations, thoughts, words and deeds? Is Christian living nothing more than avoiding a list of negatives? Not at all! It is a living that is differently focused.
How are we to change our focus? Paul challenges us with the words: "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (3:2-3). In other words do not dwell so much on the negative things, or set your minds not on the temptations of this world, but on the joy of life with Christ, a life in which we are free to enjoy boundless compassion, kindness, love, peace and gratitude. Can we do this? Yes we can because we have been given a new and abundant life that is safe and secure and hidden with Christ in God.
Paul wants us to focus on Christ, and what he has done for us to set us free from sin instead of overly concerned about our short comings. Our goal is to grow in Him, not in the passions of this world. When we grow deeper in Christ, then the dismaying and debilitating distractions of this world will slip away. In other words the grip of the power of sin in our lives will be broken. What matters, is not a perfectly flawless record of avoiding sin, but instead a vital, loving and faithful relationship with Jesus. When Christ becomes our focus then we can be confident that we will quite naturally die to the patterns of the old and sinful life and gradually but surely develop a new lifestyle that is differently focused. What does a life focused differently look like?
II. A LIFE THAT IS DIFFERENTLY FOCUSED: (Vs 12-17)
Over the centuries we Christians have been wrongly labeled as peculiar, weird, antisocial, narrow minded, bible bashers, and so on by the world. Are we that weird as we were perceived to be? No, we are just different and are differently focused. As a result we value and respect people because all are created in the image of God. We share our resources with others because we love people. Paul exhorted the Colossian believers that they were different and commanded them to put on: Compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.(The Message). You might be saying, well again another set of rules that Christians need to abide by. These are not rules to live by but they become a part of a life that is in Christ.
I wish that we became perfect at the moment we have accepted Christ as our savior, but that hasn’t been the case for many right? We keep struggling with sin. As we know nothing comes easy in life, in the same way it takes intentionality, discipline and hard work to cultivate God honoring habits and life style. How does a differently focused person different from the rest of the world? In the world people, hold grudges, hurt each other, spread slander and gossip, want to take revenge, don’t forgive others, they are rude, proud, and so on where as Christians are called to be different from the world. Paul urges the Roman believers, in Romans 6:2, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” In other words we just can not act like those who do not know Christ as their savior.
