Third in a series in Colossians 3
“For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3.3).
Several passages in Scripture speak of death in the same way Paul does here: in obedience of the gospel, we undergo a figurative death so that we can live a spiritual life and maintain the spiritual goal of going to heaven.
Even though the Colossians have “died,” they still live; but their lives no longer belong to themselves—their “real” life is so intertwined with Jesus and the Father that their focus and their decisions reflect a unique, spiritually-directed relationship.
We allow our lives here to be “hidden with Christ in God” when we detach ourselves from being controlled by things pertaining to the world, by the allure of illicit passions, by any pressures that would pull us away from God, or by allowing our drive-to-excel as a human being supersede our devotion to God and our commitment to Him.
God, then, can live in us; and, more importantly, we can live in God. We lose our life here so that we can gain eternal life in heaven.
Comments