Colossians 3:15-17

Colossians 3:15-17  Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

In the previous breakfasts, we saw when believers follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and take advantage of the provisions of the Lord, we experience a rich inner life and cope better in a world of turmoil where peace is sometimes hard to realize in our hearts.  As we clothe ourselves with the compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience of our Lord, we begin to walk as Jesus did.  We become more like him because He lives in us.  Paul now goes on with his teaching to the next steps of walking in the Spirit.  Letting the peace of God rule means letting his peace be the judge, the arbiter of your life, your decisions and actions.  The Message says: Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other.  None of this going off and doing your own thing.  And cultivate thankfulness.  Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house.  Give it plenty of room in your lives.  Yielding to the nature of Christ in us enables us to make a more fruitful and overcoming journey through life where we do face troubles of all kinds.  The sinful condition of the human heart spawns wars, conflicts, fights, divorces, dissension, criticism, hatred, abuse, and the like.  Every day our news is saturated with these problems.  As God's Word dwells in us richly and we admonish each other in faith, we will sense the anguish of Jesus over the tragedies and misfortunes of people we know and many we do not.  Jesus said the poor will be with you always: He could as easily have said trouble will be with you always.  The above scripture implies our hope is not in the world, for we are called to peace and thankfulness, the opposites of the way of the world where people strive and fight for what they want.  Darkness reigns because of sin.  In reality the sun will never come out tomorrow without Christ in the picture.  Of course every believer has the light of Christ in us, and we share that light with others, but the world does not know that light and often rejects it.  Rays of light break through for small periods of times, but the enduring, eternal brightness of the Sun/Son that shines forth and penetrates into every dark place and exposes everything will never come out tomorrow until Christ returns.  

Before he gave these instructions to the Colossians, Paul set forth important admonitions to the church, encouraging them as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved.  He wants these believers to remember who they are, to return to basic truths; so he shared obvious yet vital information.  Since , then, you have been raise with Christ, Paul reminded them, set your hearts on things above.  Then he repeated himself, telling them again to set their minds on heavenly things, not on earthly things.  All of us can relate to this message for we are constantly pulled in all directions.  I often think of lines from a poem by William Wordsworth: "The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers."  If we want peace to reign in our hearts in a steadfast manner, we must be in tune with the Holy Spirit daily.  If we are willing, the Holy Spirit will expound the Word of God in our hearts.  He will sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude through our lips as we experience joy in the Lord and realize our position and our inheritance.  Because of the cross of Christ, our lives are now hidden with Christ in God.  When we let the Spirit open our spiritual eyes and ears, He will set our hearts on things above, bringing peace to our troubled souls along with guidance and wisdom to do his perfect will.  We are not naive.  We see the selfishness and greed surrounding us--the me first generation.  We know the world is full of troubles even the sorrow of death, but our hearts are set on the permanent eternal truth of God: God sent his Son for our redemption, for eternal life.  We are no longer bound to the vicissitudes, pain, grief, and sin of this world.  With tremendous security in our possession and an eternal destination in mind, we press on believing the Word.  

Do we just ignore the trials and troubles of this world?  No, we seek justice for the poor, the downtrodden, the widows, and the fatherless.  We work tirelessly to bring the good news of God's peace to the world by telling people about Jesus, the author of peace.  With all our strength, we work to carry the image of Christ to a sick and dying world.  That image consists of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  (Galatians 5:22 & 23)  We strive to have the mind of Christ in us by serving others rather than ourselves.  We subordinate our needs to the needs of others as we attempt to be a servant to all; to love them as we love ourselves.  Our hearts are moved because Jesus was moved with compassion by the needs of the people.  He gave his all that all might live.  Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows. . .We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.  (Isaiah 53:4 & 6-7)  This image of Christ brings peace and light to a dark and chaotic world.  As we are enveloped in Christ, the sun does come out tomorrow, for we are the light of the world; we are the hope of the world in Jesus.  May Paul's prayer bless you: I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.  I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.  I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,  and his incomparably great power for us who believe.  That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.  And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.  (Ephesians 1:16-23)