Know Him Through Me
WRITTEN BY DREW MATZ
Identity Series
“Am I successful enough? Am I good enough? These questions can often distract us at best and become idols at worst…”
“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.”
Explanation:
Paul is rather infamous for having a theme in many of his letters that Biblical scholars refer to as "realized eschatology." That is, Paul often speaks of ultimate ends that have their beginnings in the here and now. For example, he can speak of God’s kingdom as having already arrived, yet, in some sense, is still yet to come. The “old” has passed away, and the “new” is already here – but has not yet come to its final culmination. This opening paragraph in his letter to the Colossians is a great example of this theme in Paul’s thought. Do not seek out your identity through vain and useless aspirations. There has been a clean break. In Christ, you have died – you are a new creation. Yet, we still live in this fallen world and in this body of death. To this, Paul says to keep our eyes focused on Jesus, so that when his final return and culmination is realized, we will also “appear with him in glory.”
Connection:
In what may be the best illustration of the anxiety that modern men experience about death, there is a sentiment popular these days which says, "every man has two deaths: when he is buried in the ground and the last time someone says his name." The quote is sometimes attributed to Ernest Hemingway, and some have found the idea all the way back in Homer's Illiad. The origin of the quote is not nearly as interesting as its ubiquity and resilience of the underlying idea. It is a testament to the fact that we wish to be known even as much as we wish to be alive. We wish to know who we are, and for others to know us and love us - to acknowledge our life and dignity. This should not surprise us in light of who God created us to be - as creatures made in his image who desire to love and be loved.
Paul understood this fear and anxiety that we have about death and identity, and that the two are intimately linked in many mysterious ways. In his inspired wisdom, he drew the connection between the death of Christ and the restored identity of all humanity by restoring God's image in all of us. To die in Christ may very well mean that we truly do eventually die in the minds of all men, but never to Christ whom we cling to in faith. It may be that we are dead to the world but alive to God. This world is transient, and we are but passing through - catching glimpses of this "hidden life" that we have in Christ and for now understanding partly, as through a glass. But one day we will glimpse God face to face, and we will know him, and be truly known (1 Cor 13:12).
Action:
1. Set Your Mind -
Our measure of success is often comparing ourselves to other people. Am I successful enough? Am I good enough? These questions can often distract us at best and become idols at worst. Instead, let us look upon Christ crucified, whose blood sets us free to be people of God (Eph 1:7).
2. Put Off, Put On -
Paul describes our new identity in black and white terms: dead or alive, bound or free, off or on. Our identity in Christ is no different, it requires us to daily repent, to return to God's word and remove our old garment and put on the new (Eph 4:22-24).
3. Expand the Kingdom -
In a world wrestling with finding an identity, the soil is fertile to plant seeds. Therefore, go out and preach the Gospel and make disciples of all nations (Matt 28:19).