Colossians 2:6-15
It is so easy for us, in the name of Christ, to walk in the rules and regulations we create for ourselves. In our own culturally unique way we have created a list of do's and don'ts that, if we'll only follow them, then we can be pleasing to God. Don't get me wrong, those do's and don'ts are not bad things. Most of them are quite commendable actions that should be expected of Christ followers. But they are not the only things. When we make our list, we inevitably leave something out. Our list, therefore, becomes an incomplete, personally biased tool we use to judge ourselves and others concerning spiritual maturity.
All the things we think must be done for good standing can all be done without the right heart motivation--which is what the Lord looks at anyway. And it's not just the kind of heart that leads us to good worship attendance. The Lord looks at the heart when your wife burned the bread or when your husband left the seat up or when your kid got marker on her wall or when your co-worker recieved your promotion. Our life of discipleship cannot be measured by our church schedule--discipleship encompasses all of life.
Paul is writing to dispel false teaching at Colossae. Many externalities, very simply put, were being leveled at the Colossians and packaged as "this + this + this = Godliness". These things, however, left out the heart changed by the beauty of Christ.
So, Paul writes, "as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him"--not by works but by faith. Be rooted in Him, established in the faith, abounding in thanksgiving--not meaningless external activity separate from a contrite heart.
Christ is God--in Him the fullness of deity dwells bodily--and you are filled in him. He is the head of all rule and authority. He has circumcised you spiritually; don't rely on that external stuff anymore because He has made you new by circumcising your hearts.
The beauty of Christ is this: he has nailed all that external stuff--the law, rules, regulations, legalism--to the cross. He triumphed over those who would impose such religiosity on you when He rose from the death they gave Him. Don't fall for that stuff anymore.
I guess the question for us is this: is our "Christian life" defined by our checklist of religious activity or by a heart and life changed in every aspect by the beauty of Christ? As you go through your day, ask yourself, "Is this [action, word, thought, etc.] a display of the beauty of Christ or of my own selfish desires?" The answer will tell you whether you have compartmentalized your "Christian life" or if the beauty of Christ has changed your whole heart and life. That is real discipleship--when our whole heart and life is an effort to display the beauty of Christ.
