Philippians 3 – Colossians 2
It’s November and Thanksgiving is nearly upon us. Ahh, the changing of the seasons and the holidays are on their way. There’s no stopping them. The briskness in the air takes my breath away when I step outside early in the morning. The pumpkins and gourds are abundant; I’m craving turkey, stuffing, and all the trimmings.
As I read today’s passage, I saw much to be thankful for. One section that caught my eye especially was in the first chapter of Colossians where Paul writes,
“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation…”
Lately, God has been teaching me about being versus doing. Years ago my sister made the comment that God created us human beings, not human doings. She has a point. It’s the idea that what I do does not constitute who I am. They are separate. If I fail, make a mistake, etc., that action does not make me (who I am) a failure, or a mistake, etc. They are different. Being (essence) versus doing (action).
What stuck out to me in this verse is that God makes it very clear that our behavior (our doing), alienated us from God and made us his enemies. But (!), we have been reconciled through Christ’s death and now we are (our essence) presented holy, without blemish, and free from accusation. It’s not the things we do, but rather who we are.
While I realize I still don’t fully comprehend this idea, on multiple occasions lately, God has shown me where I was seeing my actions as equal to who I am. And he has gently reminded me that my actions don’t have that much control. My identity is in Christ and what he has done. That shows me just a glimpse of how much I have to be thankful for: Christ’s death reconciled me, so that I am holy in his sight. I am without blemish. I am free from accusation.
Cristin
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