This past Sunday, Mike shared from Colossians 3:3-4. I love these verses. In the NLT, they read,

“For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory”.

Today I was also encouraged by a Seeds Family Worship song called, “Your Life is Hidden”, that could easily have been this series’ choice for the Children’s Ministry.

Christ gave His life for mine, and as His follower, I am now able to exchange my life for His. It is my reasonable service.

I love watching home improvement shows. My favourite episodes detail complete restorations. I watch them strip everything back to reveal the original beauty of the home. In reality, God alone is absolutely beautiful and the only original. He lovingly created us in His image. So now, rather than thinking of God renovating my life by merely putting on an addition or changing the paint colour, I can picture him carefully peeling back the layers of sin and superfluousness to reveal His original beauty.

What does this concept look like in everyday life? Are we all supposed to live in monasteries, chanting Gregorian songs? The question is rhetorical because most of us have other responsibilities. I bet that even monks struggle with selfishness. No one likes to talk about the sins mentioned in verses 5-9 of Colossians 3, but the battle continues. I need the encouragement of knowing that my life is now His life, and through His power alone I can let go of sin. I know it won’t happen by trying harder to perform or presenting myself as something I’m not, but by purposefully giving up all that gratifies and glorifies anything but Him. There is a continual renewal required that resembles the cells in our physical bodies. Every time a sinful thought tries to enter my mind, I must slough it off like a dead cell. Sadly, this renewal does not happen naturally in my spirit. I must choose it every day.

On Monday, I watched part five of a docuseries on stem cells. A doctor  described her passion this way: “It is my life’s work. Every day I ask myself, does this one thing promote or take me away from educating the world about stem cell science?”

I want that singleness of mind for Christ!

—Sharon Tiede

Reflection on Colossians 3:3-4 & 5-9

Alive! Series