“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.” (Colossians 3:1-4)
When we who have faith in Jesus speak our mind in conversation, public forums, community and family gatherings, or social media, why do we do so? Do we do it want to show our knowledge, maturity, or excellence? Do we seek to justify ourselves? Do we want others to feel bad? Or do we really want to help others, even those we do not agree with? If we want to help others, we must be careful that what we say and when we say it is tempered by love and humility, as well as the awareness of our own sinful imperfection. In addition whatever we say and do must reflect His goodness, love and mercy.
This teaching is what Paul conveys in his letter to the church at Colossi, words of wisdom that were designed help believers grow into the image of Christ, to gain spiritual maturity. The path to spiritual maturity does not involve learning spiritual secrets, following the law, or adopting an ascetic lifestyle. The way we grow in Christ is by putting off our old way of living and begin thinking like Jesus. After all, when we who have faith in Jesus have died to the old self, we became new creations in Christ. This death is carried out in baptism. Baptism graphically proclaims that entry into the kingdom of God only comes by death. This death must take its effects over every aspect of our passions, lusts, and selfish desires. This process takes patience and time as well as the disciplined work of the Holy Spirit. He motivates us to set aside the old ways and put on the new.
And in this new life we are joined to Christ and so joined to all other believers as well. Men and women, slave and free, black, white, yellow and brown we are all equal in Christ so we should treat everyone accordingly. We are to be tender-hearted, merciful, and kind toward all people. We are to forgive always even as we have been forgiven. We are never to seek our own agenda, something which or culture finds totally unacceptable with the focus these days on the rights of individuals to do whatever they desire or feel to be right or that will make them happy and self-fulfilled. Having the mind of Christ will mean we will usually have to quietly accept abuse, scorn, and reproach from our fellow human beings when we are really tempted to justify and defend ourselves and so prove others wrong. The faithful Christian, however, realizes that his sense of worth and identity come not from what others say or think about us, or even what we think. Our sense of worth comes from Christ.