So if you have been raised with
Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right
hand of God. 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. When
Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in
glory.
Put to death, therefore, whatever in
you is earthly: fornication, impurity,
passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On account of these the wrath of God is coming
on those who are disobedient. These are
the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. But now you must get rid of all such
things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you
have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves
with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image
of its creator. In that renewal there is
no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian,
slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!
As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with
compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a
complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven
you, so you also must forgive. Above
all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect
harmony. And let the peace of Christ
rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Colossians 3:1-15 (NRSV)
My wife, Elizabeth and I
could not be more different. We met 50
years ago, and have been married 47½ of those years. Besides the obvious differences, gender thing
and all, we come from decidedly different backgrounds. Concerning the socio-economic picture, we
were raised on different sides of the tracks.
Her family’s cultural connection was much closer to Old World European ways;
mine more Brooklyn, New York. She likes
vanilla, I’m a chocolate addict. I would
live on top of a mountain – give Elizabeth the beach. She has an eye for interior decorating, order
and beauty; I’m lucky to find my toothbrush in the same drawer twice in a month,
and couldn’t tell you the difference between sea green and lavender. Elizabeth loves to shop; I’m a cheapskate and
a confirmed, card-carrying store hater.
I like technology; it drives her crazy!
Personality-wise, I’m an
introvert, bordering on reclusive; Elizabeth is more extroverted, having never
met a stranger. I tend to be complacent,
so much so, Elizabeth checks my pulse several times daily to see if I’ve
slipped into a coma; she, on the other hand is vibrant and engages her
interests passionately. She was raised
in a family that had very little connection with church; I lived there. (Sometimes my family went to church so often
I seriously considered changing my mailing address to “under the steeple”.)
Why the
soul-baring today?
Well, it’s 5am and how else
am I going to avoid the gaping holes in my willingness to accept what Paul wrote
to the Colossian church? I figure if I dance-around
this issue of accepting all the differences we have in this human family dwelling
on planet Earth, I may be able to gloss-over some of the sticky parts. You know what I’m talking about – like how, as
a person whose life is “hidden in Christ with God,” I’m supposed to not only
tolerate and accept, but embrace others who are so different from me.
It’s more than just “making room at the table,”
it’s getting up, pulling up another chair and inviting that different soul to
sit next to you. Paul said we’re a “holy
mixture” and our job is to clothe this body of Christ with love that produces
harmony.
Whew…no wonder I’m dreading
investigating this!
All this week we’re going to
talk about these differences; I hope you’ll stay tuned. (I hate walking a tough road alone.
Today…for you
You’re different than me. I’m committed to getting over that. Join me?
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