Since you have been brought back to true
life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ
is, sitting at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not
on the things that are on the earth, because you have died, and now the life
you have is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed – and he is
your life – you too will be revealed in all your glory with him.
That is why you must kill everything in you
that belongs only to earthly life: fornication, impurity, guilty passion, evil
desires and especially greed, which is the same thing as worshipping a false
god; all this is the sort of behaviour that makes God angry. And it is the way
in which you used to live when you were surrounded by people doing the same
thing, but now you, of all people, must give all these things up: getting
angry, being bad-tempered, spitefulness, abusive language and dirty talk; and never
tell each other lies. You have stripped off your old behaviour with your old
self, and you have put on a new self which will progress towards true knowledge
the more it is renewed in the image of its creator; and in that image there is
no room for distinction between Greek and Jew, between the circumcised or the
uncircumcised, or between barbarian and Scythian, slave and free man. There is
only Christ: he is everything and he is in everything.
You are God’s chosen race, his saints; he
loves you, and you should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and
humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; forgive each other as
soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same.
Over all these clothes, to keep them together and complete them, put on love.
And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that
you were called together as parts of one body. Always be thankful.
Let the message of Christ, in all its
richness, find a home with you. Teach each other, and advise each other, in all
wisdom. With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms and hymns and inspired songs
to God; and never say or do anything except in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.
The
above piece is of course an extract from the letter to the Colossians (3: 1 – 17). It was the reading for Matins today and I
felt prompted to share it without first identifying where it was from, though
most of you will immediately have known where it was from. Hope it had a similar positive impact on you
as it did me this morning.
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