A common experience that many of us have when we're growing up is the experience of trying to figure out who we are while attempting to carve out some sense of an identity. I can think of several seasons during my youth when that was the case for me.
At one point, I remember looking at my handwriting and being dissatisfied with it, so I completely changed the way I wrote. That was a decision I made when I was in 6th Grade, and it still impacts my penmanship to this day.
I remember going through another season of life, not long after that was characterized by long hair, t-shirts with my favorite metal bands, and torn jeans. But that season also seemed to be characterized by less friends and less respect from others, so the following year I went in a completely different direction, cut my hair, and bought a bunch of nice clothes. Then I attempted to re-establish friendships with the people I used to hang out with years earlier.
The process of trying to carve out a new life or a new identity isn't something we only attempt to do when we're young. In fact, at present, I can think of several friends who seem to be doing that very thing. One friend in particular just left the career field he's been working in for his entire adult life to venture into a brand new field. He's excited about it, and I hope it works out for him. Another friend recently lost 120 lbs. He looks drastically different and seems rather excited about the changes he's made.
I bring these examples up to illustrate something that's spoken about in Colossians 3:1-11. In this passage, we're told more about the new life and new identity we have as believers in Christ. Jesus has given us a new way to think, live, and treat each other, and this passage powerfully demonstrates how it looks to be a new person in Jesus.
I. You have given up an earthly way of thinking
““If then 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 appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” ”
Do you have someone in your life that is almost always complaining? Our family is friends with someone who starts most conversations with a complaint. Her favorite things to complain about are the weather, her job, and the Philadelphia Eagles. It's fair to say that she sees most things from a negative perspective, and in many ways, I think this may also be demonstrating a lack of long-term hope in her heart.
One of the great benefits that we get to experience through faith in Jesus is a new way of thinking. All throughout the Bible, the Lord demonstrates that He is offering us a new mind and a new focus. We don't need to be negative. We don't need to be hopeless when we give up an earthly way of thinking and begin to seek the things that are above.
Paul uses the nature of Christ's resurrection to give us a good mental picture of how the Lord is trying to lift up our minds and perspectives. Just as Christ's body was raised from death, so too are our minds when we trust in Him. Our thinking was earthly and down in the dirt until Jesus lifted us up. And with this new perspective, we can begin seeking things that have eternal value instead of wasting our lives on the materials of this earth that are destined to decay.
A while back, I read a story of some thieves in Mexico that stole gold and had to run. In order to escape capture, some of them ran into a body of water where they still refused to let go of the gold, even though it was weighing them down and they ended up drowning because their minds and their lives were set on earthly things.
So what does it look like to set our minds on things above? First of all, please notice that this isn't a passive activity. It's a volitional act. It's something we actively participate in doing, and I think it involves prayer for God's wisdom, intentionally planning what information we're going to consume, and surrounding ourselves with people who inspire our faith.
The wisdom we possess, the information we consume, and the people we associate with will all have an impact on how we think. If you truly want to give up an earthly way of thinking, it's wise to take a good look at all three.
II. You have stopped feeding the desires of your old nature
“ “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.” ”
I mentioned earlier that I have a friend who recently lost 120 lbs. A key component in his weight loss was a change in the food he consumed. He changed what he ate and he changed how much of it he was eating. Much of his eating was being done to satisfy an emotional need. He was using food like a drug and he kept feeding his addiction until he got help.
When Paul talks about putting to death the cravings of our old nature, he's directing us to stop feeding those passions. Those cravings tend to root deeply in the lives of those who are using them to satisfy an emotional need, and if we keep feeding those cravings, we enable them to grow even stronger. If you feed sexual immorality to satisfy an emotional need, it will have mastery over you. If you feed covetousness, it will have mastery over you. If you feed any evil desire, you're enabling it to control your life, and on a spiritual level, you're making it into an idol. We worship whatever has mastery over us.
Before we met Jesus, this was how we lived, but now we have Christ and we don't need to return to our old patterns and practices. And as we walk in the light of Christ, we'll enjoy a renewed and refreshed perspective as well. Anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscenity and whatever character traits used to define us, no longer define the lives we're living. New life. New you. We are made completely new in Christ, and we don't need to bow our knees to the idolatries of our old life.
III. You are living with honesty and authenticity
“ “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices””
Each week, typically on Tuesday mornings, I meet online with a group of business and ministry leaders. We've been meeting for the past couple years and we try to sharpen each other, ask difficult questions, and offer ideas and solutions to the problems we're dealing with. The majority of people in this group are believers, but several are not. Not long ago, one of the members who had been wrestling with issues of faith for a while noticed that I wasn't getting upset about something that would have upset him, so he asked me about it.
He said, "I never see you get upset or angry on these calls, so I'm curious to know what upsets you?" I replied, "I definitely do get upset, but the things we talk about in these meetings don't usually rise to that level for me."
"So what is it?," he asked again. "How can we make you angry?" I said, "It's actually very simple. If you want to see a different side of me, lie to me. It will change the nature of our relationship and you might not like me much after that because that's something I find very difficult to put up with."
Scripture tells us it is impossible for God to lie (Heb. 6:18). He is the perfection and the personification of truth. And when He observes the lives and the lips of His children, He doesn't want to see the prevalence of dishonesty because he detests lying lips (Prov. 12:22).
Our new life in Christ is empowered to be honest. It's empowered to be authentic. We don't need to lie to each other and we don't need to lie to ourselves because we've been empowered to put off our old self. Satan is the father lies, but Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. As followers of Christ, our native language should be honesty, and we shouldn't compromise that standard.
IV. You are becoming more and more like Jesus
“ “and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.” ”
Two things amaze me about being a parent. As I observe the lives and personalities of my four children, I'm amazed by the ways they are very different from me, and I'm also amazed when I see similarities and aspects of their lives that reflect my influence.
I think the Lord is pleased when He looks at His children because He sees who we are and what He's causing us to become. He already knows the outcome as well, and knows that all believers in Jesus Christ will be transformed to be like He is. In His Word, the Lord promises us that we will be given new, sinless bodies that are fit for an eternity in His holy presence (1 Cor. 15:49).
In the meantime, our understanding, insight, and perspective are being renewed after the image of Christ. As our faith grows and matures, we are becoming more and more like Him. We're starting to see people and circumstances differently. We're even seeing ourselves differently.
On a wall near the main entrance to the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, is a portrait with the following inscription:
““James Butler Bonham—no picture of him exists. This portrait is of his nephew, Major James Bonham, deceased, who greatly resembled his uncle. It is placed here by the family that people may know the appearance of the man who died for freedom.”
No literal portrait of Jesus exists either. But the likeness of the Son who makes us free can be seen in the lives of His true followers. ”
New life. New you.
© John Stange, 2022
