Yesterday we read about Christ in us, and the call to grow in Christ. Today Paul reminds us that our status as ‘raised in Christ’ is a given, a gift received. He then reminds us that this is just a starting point, and that we have a part to play in living the new life here and now.
Union with Christ isn’t just a mystical, spiritual concept. It’s the reality of daily life to which we are called as well. It’s about fixing our minds on ‘things that are above’ and then living down below with a higher vision.We are to live up to the life which is already ours, shunning all that detracts from full life and seeking to live lives worthy of who God already sees us to be. This life in turn is practical and down to earth, and tied up with how we put up with one another, especially our fellow Christians.
Spirituality isn’t just about our prayers. It’s also about our work, our leisure, our conversations, our meetings and our relationships in every respect.
When Paul gets on to the details of those relationships, Colossians 4 reads very much like a summary of Ephesians 5:15-6:9, with its teaching on redeeming the time and on relationships within Christian households. If you’d like to look at what I said about that here, it probably stands here as well!
Nick Watson 