Go higher

Encouragement is a wonderful gift and Paul was THE great encourager! The little band of Christians at Colossae would no doubt have hung on to every word that Paul wrote to them. They knew he cared about them.

What then does Paul mean when he tells them to 'lie not one to another' (Col 3: 9)? The Passion translation offers this: 'Lay aside your old Adam-self with its masquerade and disguise'.  Might Paul's message be meant to encourage his listeners (his letter would no doubt have been read aloud to the group) -- to think of themselves in a brand new light? His great love for them and 'for them at Laodicea and ... as many as have not seen [his] face in the flesh' (Col 2: 1) just pours out of his message and in his yearning for their 'hearts' to be 'knit together in love' (Col 2:2).

And so, while this little band of Christians is to remain law-abiding i.e. they are 'subject to ordinances' such as 'touch not; taste not; handle not' (Col 2: 20,21), they are nevertheless (as followers of Christ Jesus) to look to a higher power, to 'set [their] affection on things above, not on things on the earth' (Col 3: 2).

Sounds like a good plan for us today.

Julie Swannell