3 So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, 3 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
If you have travelled for work or vacation, you could have taken a ride in an airplane. You probably have also packed a bag or bags with clothes, a toothbrush or even equipment necessary to finish your job. But those luggage bags don’t sit with you on the airplane, they are placed into the hold underneath the airplane. The luggage goes with you on your trip, but it is placed and kept in the hold with all the other luggage. When you transfer to another plane, the luggage goes with you. You cannot see the luggage, but the luggage is in the hold of the plane (most of the time).
Perhaps then we can understand the idea of being hidden in Christ. If the plane takes off, the luggage takes off with the plane. If the plane lands, the luggage lands with the plane. If we are hidden in Christ, like luggage in the plane, then we have been raised with Christ and seated with him at the right hand of God. We are the luggage hidden in Christ and Christ has been raised and seated in the highest heavens; and we are where he is: above.
But the whole point Paul is trying to make to the Colossians is that if we have been raised and seated with Christ above, then we should be seeking and setting our minds on above things and not below things. Things like passion, lust and greed are the things below and things like compassion, kindness, humility, and patience are the things above. Since we have been hidden in Christ above, we should pay attention to above things and let go of the things below.
But Paul reminds them and us that the only reason we can do these things, is not because of our ability to be moral or because of our commitment to being good. The only reason this transformation is possible is because the “sinner” in us has died and the “saint” in us has been resurrected. Only because we are hidden in Christ can we even answer the call for the things above and avoid the things below. This isn’t an achievement we push hard for, nor a success or accomplishment of our wills and strengths. This is the gift from God to us, something we receive and not achieve.
But the more important element is that we are now hidden with Christ. Christ will be revealed and us with him, but now who we are is hidden in Christ. This quite simply means that we must wait, and we must wait a long time, suffering until we get there. We will be revealed along with Christ, but now we are hidden in Christ. And this is a good thing, because it means that every hour of every day, every season of trial and difficulty, every period of spiritual drought and physical infirmities, we are surrounded by Jesus Christ. Even while we must deal and suffer with and from the things below, we are also surrounded by the grace and power of Jesus Christ. Even when surrounded by difficult crisis and difficult people, we are hidden in Christ, we are safe and secure in Him.
But if our only comfort in this world is that God has hidden us in Jesus Christ, then as disciples we must learn that we have already died to sin and have been resurrected to God. The challenge of the Gospel is that we can live a new life, here and now. The life of Christ now lives in us his body. We can live in humility, forgiveness, and justice. This is who we are because we have been hidden in Christ; let us let it out of us and share it with those around us. If God has hidden us in Christ, then let us live Christ-like lives, because God can do so, we can do so. Amen.
Leave a Reply