Some years ago, I facilitated a spiritual formation group using James Bryan Smith’s The Apprentice series. A core spiritual practice of the group was to memorize Colossians 3:1-17. Complete confession: I’m not great at memorizing things word-for-word. In fact, I struggle with ordering for Allison in the drive-thru even though she’s told me exactly what she wants mere seconds before I make the order. The prospect of memorizing seventeen verses of scripture appeared daunting. However, I gave myself fully to this spiritual formation exercise starting with the first verse of Colossians 3. After memorizing one verse, I would commit myself to memorizing the next verse. Over time, I memorized all of it, along with the rest of our group. Recently, I felt a nudge by the Holy Spirit to return to Colossians 3:1-17. If you’re not familiar with the passage, you can read it here.  

Paul is reminding the Christians in Colossae (and us, too!) that new life in Christ not only describes a relational change with God, whereby we are forgiven and become His children, but also, a real change that continually occurs in our hearts and lives. New life in Christ means no longer living in slavery to the value system of the world around us “since you have taken off the old self with its practices and put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” (v. 10). Paul is not issuing a challenge to withdraw from the world. Paul was all about taking the good news of Jesus Christ into all the world. In fact, later in his letter to the Colossian church, he asks them to pray that a door would be open that he may proclaim Christ’s message and that he would do so with clarity (4:3-4). Let me emphasize again, Paul is not issuing a call for retraction from the wider culture of the Roman Empire. Instead, he is exhorting those who’ve experienced new life in Christ to live by the values of Christ’s kingdom rather than the values of the empire.  

In his commentary on Colossians 3, N.T. Wright invites his readers to imagine two cities. One city lives by values which express themselves by “sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, which is idolatry” (v. 5), as well as “anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language,” and lying (vv. 8, 9) A few miles down the road, there is another city where the people live by values which are expressed by “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience” (v. 12). In this city, the people “forgive one another, just as the Lord has forgiven them” and are bound together by the virtue of love (vv. 13-14). The people in this city live with peace and gratitude in their hearts and lives (vv. 15-17). In which city would you choose to live?1 One city is full of those living in slavery to darkness. In the other city people live in true freedom enjoyed by all. This would be a city to which people would be attracted because the ruler of this city is Jesus. Citizens of the second city would be what Jesus envisioned when He said to his followers, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16, NIV). Friends, those who call Christ their Lord are called to be citizens of this city amid the world.  

Reflecting upon it, I think there are at least a couple reasons why I’ve felt called to return to the struggle of memorizing Colossians 3:1-17. First, dwelling upon this passage is a way of examining my own soul. Or better stated, to allow the Holy Spirit to examine my soul. For me, ruminating on this passage is akin to David praying, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24). There is still much in me that needs to be renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 

Second, in an all too often anxious and hostile world, we have the option of either pointing people to the freedom of life in Christ or contributing to the world’s anxiety and hostility. Let’s show the world a better way by showing them Christ. How do we do so faithfully? The first several verses of Colossians 3 provide the key, by setting our hearts and minds on Christ (vv. 1-4). In so far as our hearts and minds are fixed upon Jesus, we are able to live as faithful citizens in God’s kingdom. As we say each week at the end of our worship services, “We are loved by Christ.” In grateful response, we go out into our world to “love Christ and love like Christ.”