COLOSSIANS 3:5

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

TO PONDER

In today’s reading, Saint Paul gives us a list of activities and attitudes that he doesn’t expect to see in God’s children. This is really a very small list of “sinful activities” that we could add to a much bigger list of things we shouldn’t be doing as members of the Heavenly Family.

We have to be a bit careful about how we use such lists. For example, we could go through such a lists and tick off everyone we haven’t broken and feel proud about our goodness and possibly, even subconsciously, feel that God has to accept us because of our goodness. At the other extreme, we could be so overcome by the number of failures from the lists, that we despair of God ever loving us and accepting us.

In the sermon on the mount (recorded in Matthew), Jesus lifted the bar for the pass mark on some of these “sins” to such a degree that none of us can claim to not have committed them, including murder.

I would like to pick up on the underlying issue with the first three “sins” mentioned by Paul (which could possible include the fourth). Sexual intimacy is a very precious gift which God has given humans, but only for couples completely committed to one another. In this relationship Paul clearly tells us that we have zero rights in terms of receiving this sexual intimacy, only a responsibility, based on sacrificial love, to give sexual intimacy to our partner. Paul’s list of sexual immorality, impurity, lust and evil desires are all about myself and utilising others to try to satisfy my own desires.

When we look at some of the other commandments from the Ten Commandments, such as honouring our parents, not murdering (or hating), not stealing, not lying, not coveting, we also see that the motivation for breaking these commandments is focusing on self and one’s “rights” as opposed to love and concern for others.

Children of the Heavenly Family look to Jesus as the example to follow in how to live in this family. Not once did Jesus do something or use someone for His own advantage. His motivation was always for the benefit and blessings of others (or to correct wrong thinking). And He did this sacrificially, to the extent of letting Himself be sacrificed on our behalf.

We need to remember we cannot live as members of the Heavenly Family by our best efforts. Just as Jesus had to step in to open the door for entry into this family, so we need the daily guidance of Holy Spirit living in us for us to live within this family.

Prayer: Heavenly Family, again, thank You all for the ways You are working in my life to change my focus from myself to the people You have brough into my life, to be Your ears, mouth, hands and feet of Your love to them. Thank You for the joy in seeing You at work in our lives. Amen

Today's devotion written by Charles Bertelsmeier, LifeWay Epping