Central Purpose

A Christ-Centered Heart, Mind, & Life

10.16.22 [Colossians 3:1-14] River of Life (19th Sunday after Pentecost)

Grace and peace to you, my faithful brothers and sisters in Christ, from God our Father. Amen.

Rachel and her brother Joey were just doing what kids do on any old Saturday morning-riding their bikes around the neighborhood. Even though the sights didn’t change much, they loved the freedom and the speed of pedaling up & down & all around their neighborhood.

Shortly after they rolled up the driveway, where mom & dad were running a yard sale, a stranger followed. He wasn’t interested in buying anything. He wanted to talk to Rachel’s parents about her and her brother. For a moment, Rachel panicked. She was certain that they had been careful not to cross any busy streets or ride in anyone’s flower bed. What could this stranger need to speak to her parents about?

Then the stranger walked up to her brother. Son, let me show you something real important, he said. He curled the four fingers into the palm of his right hand and quickly bumped Joey’s helmet. It shifted backwards from the impact. Joey was more stunned than stung. You got the right idea in wearing your helmet, he explained. But you gotta have to have it on the right way or its not gonna do a lick of good when you really need it. I just don’t want to see you getting hurt.

Even though Rachel and her family had never met this man before, what he said resonated. They listened intently as he showed them how to adjust the straps on their helmets so that they fit right. Each time Rachel and Joey went to the garage to go for a bike ride, mom and dad reminded them to make sure they tightened their helmets.

A stranger giving somebody unsolicited instructions sounds like the kind of thing that doesn’t happen much anymore. When it does, it usually goes poorly. We don’t always react well to strangers telling us we aren’t doing something that well at all. But it’s good if we slow down for a moment and remember that a complete stranger most likely only give us that kind of direction if it was really important.

That’s kind of what’s going on in our reading from Colossians today. Paul has never visited these people in person. He had only (Col. 1:4,8-9) heard of their faith from his dear friend, Epaphras. They had heard of Paul, but the Colossians did not know him personally. He was a stranger giving them some much needed and very helpful guidance. (Col. 3:1) Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is. (Col. 3:2) Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Col. 3:5) Put to death the desires of your earthly nature and (Col. 3:10) put on the new self. (Col. 3:12) Clothe yourselves with Christ-like virtues, like compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. (Col. 3:8) Rid yourselves of loveless actions & attitudes. (Col. 3:10) Be renewed in the image of your Creator.

Paul’s guidance is pretty straightforward. You used to live in a way that deserved (Col. 3:6) the wrath of God. But Christ changed all that. (Col. 3:4) Christ is your life, so your heart, your mind, and your life should be Christ-centered. There is nothing that Paul forbids and nothing that he commands that strikes us as strange. We might have questions about the difference between anger, rage, and malice. We might wonder why he says greed is idolatry. We might be curious as to who a Scythian is, but Paul’s point is pretty clear.

But it’s still one we need to hear. Because many times, we (Col. 3:10) put on the new self the way kids do bike helmets. We know our heavenly Father wants us to wear it. But why, we’re not quite so sure. We put it on to placate others not to preserve our lives.

Putting on the new self is the flip side of the putting to death the sinful nature coin. The old self and its practices are (Rom. 8:7) hostile to the new self. But, at times, we try to get them to just get along together.

We may not engage in tawdry affairs, but we binge watch them on TV. We may not march in pride parades, but we lack the courage to tell our friends and family that their homosexuality is a sin. We may not ogle impure images online, but we’re relieved to let the very society that spends billions on pornography teach our kids and grandkids about the nature and purpose of sex. We get too self-conscious and flustered talking about those kinds of things with young people.

We may recognize that we have our moments of greed and anger, but we don’t see it as really all that dangerous. It’s not ideal, to us, but it shouldn’t be such a big deal. It’s remarkable how quickly we forget about the bevy of blessings God has given to each of us and how often we belly-ache about all the challenges that they come with.

We think of our anger like a campfire, hemmed in by a ring of stones. But our anger is more like flashes of lightning. We don’t know when or where or even always why it flashes. But it always does. The storm clouds of our hearts and minds are hard to predict and impossible for us to rein in. We internalize disappointments, stress, & anxiety and lash out at those who just happen to be around. We’re so easily annoyed. Hyper-critical and testy. Nothing like our Creator God.

At times, our concept of truth is like our view of art—in the eye of the beholder. We trumpet truth when it makes us feel superior. We ignore truth when it makes us feel uncomfortable or embarrassed. We keep a laundry list of other people’s transgressions and never deal with our own. We are petty & childish, vindictive & resentful. This is our old self.

We think our Heavenly Father should just be happy we have the new self on at all. So maybe it’s not perfectly tight. Maybe it could use some adjustments. But surely we should get some credit for wearing it at all. Like children, we just don’t get it. We don’t see the need because we don’t fully comprehend the danger we’re facing.

What we do see are all those people who are riding without a helmet. They look like they’re having so much more fun with the wind in their hair. We resent the fact that we have to deal with sweaty foreheads and a tangled mess of hair. Why can’t we be like them?

This is the old self’s immaturity. We’ve missed the necessity of the new self much like a child and their bike helmet. A helmet is designed to protect you from irreparable harm. Its aim is to protect your noggin, not to increase your popularity. The new self has been gifted to you to protect you from falling prey to the practices of the old self. Its aim is to save your soul from wrath.

It is the new self that dwells within us that has to put to death whatever belongs to our earthly nature. It is the new self that dwells within us that removes the old self with its sinful practices. It is the new self (Col. 3:10) which is being renewed in knowledge of the image of its Creator. What is this new self? It is nothing less that Christ himself. (Col 3:4) It is Christ who has given you life. It is Christ who guards your life. It is Christ who guarantees your glory.

This same Christ dwells in all kinds of people. Jesus came for those who lived lives of (Jn. 3) careful self-discipline and (Jn. 4) those who did not. (Mk. 10:47) He came for those who shared his language, like blind Bartimaeus, and (Mk. 7:32) those who did not, like the deaf and mostly mute man from Decapolis. (Php. 2:7) He came as a servant to those who were slaves. (Jn. 8:33-36) He came to give freedom to those who thought they had been born free. (Col. 3:4) Christ is our life. He has earned eternal life for you and gifted it to you totally out of his undeserved love. Christ guards your life and guarantees your glory.

This same Christ dwells in all kinds of people. Jesus came for those who lived lives of (Jn. 3) careful self-discipline and (Jn. 4) those who did not. He came for those who shared his language, (Mk. 10:47) like blind Bartimaeus, and those who did not, (Mk. 7:32) like the deaf and mostly mute man from Decapolis. (Php. 2:7) He came as a servant to those who were slaves. (Jn. 8:33-36) He came to give freedom to those who thought they had been born free. (Col. 3:4) Christ is our life. He has earned eternal life for you and gifted it to you totally out of his undeserved love. Christ guards your life and guarantees your glory.

How did he accomplish these wonderful things? By (Col. 3:1-2) setting his heart and his mind on things above. Every step of the way, Jesus recognized the great purpose of his life. He was not called just to avoid temptation. He delighted in the law of the Lord. He meditated on his Father’s will day and night. But his path led to condemnation. He was sent to be put to death for our many sins.

Though he had never given into the temptations of lust or greed or dishonesty, he was treated as a reviled criminal. The leaders of Israel raged at him. They slandered his name. He was crucified because (Gal. 3:13) he became a curse for us. Jesus endured all this so that we might be (Col. 3:12) God’s chosen people. His holy, precious blood makes us holy. God’s dearly beloved Son stood as our Substitute and now treats us with (Col. 3:12) compassion, kindness, gentleness and patience. (Col. 3:13) The Lord has forgiven us freely & fully. Christ has gifted you his perfect record and promises you eternal life.

This same Christ now guards your life. How does he do this? By dwelling in you. By (Rom. 12:2) renewing your mind & (Ps. 51:10) purifying your heart. Because of God’s unmatched grace, you see your life differently. The new self is not holding you back from anything good. The old self cannot bring you anything you really need or is actually good for you. The new self, much like a bike helmet, keeps you safe because it keeps you close to God. Your obedience cannot save you, but because Christ is in you, because you are saved, you cannot help but strive to live like your Creator and Redeemer.

God did all this through his means of grace. In his Word he has (1 Pt. 2:9) called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. In your Baptism, that old self was put to death. In your Baptism, Christ’s victory over sin, death, and the devil became yours. Through Baptism you have been transformed and renewed to delight in God’s holy law. At your Baptism, you likely received the sign of the cross on your head and your heart to mark you as God’s own child. He loves you. He protects you. He only wants what is best for you. So, sometimes, he sends complete strangers to teach you important lessons.

Rachel never forgot that stranger's lesson. Part of the reason was that her parents insisted upon it every time she rode her bike after that. But she learned what a helmet was designed to do for her. And she passed that on to her kids.

Recently, Rachel grew in her appreciation of that stranger. Her four year old little girl loved speed and freedom as much as her mom. She was flying on her scooter, when suddenly she learned Newton’s first law. An external force, a deep groove in the sidewalk, stopped the forward motion of her scooter. She went flying, face first, into the sidewalk. But her head and face were protected that day. They were hidden by her helmet. What a gift!

Is Baptism any less powerful and precious? Christ has given us life and guards our lives with his Holy Word. And each of us is called to pass this on to the next generation. To model it for young hearts and minds. To explain to them how a life of sanctification may not be popular and at times may feel unpleasant, but it keeps us safe —close to our Savior, (Col. 3:1) who is seated at the right hand of God and will appear again to take us to our eternal glory. So let us set our hearts and minds on things above, and see our lives the way that Christ does. Let us live with our higher purpose as our highest priority. Because nothing keeps our souls more secure, than a Christ-centered heart, mind, and life. Amen.