Two children of one of our grad students were in the hallway outside my door and one was taunting the other with a secret. Curiosity drives us crazy when someone says, “I know a secret. I know a secret.” “Oh please,” we say. “I won’t tell anyone.” Paul had a secret he wanted to share and he did not taunt us with it. A paraphrase of Colossians 1 reads, “This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it’s out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message.”
Sometimes I think it is still a secret. I hear sermons telling us we have to do this and that to be saved. We are told we have to eat this or not eat that. But the truth according to Paul is we get to share in God’s glory by having Christ in us. It isn’t about not having mustard inside. It is about having Jesus inside to guide and direct our lives. That’s the meat of the message.
I sometimes fear that we fear others will learn this and then we can’t control them any longer because they are free in Christ. Please, let’s stop imprisoning ourselves and others in slavery to doing things. The Gospel is not about things. It is a living experience that naturally produces the wonderful fruit of care. It is rejoicing that we are already sharing in God’s grace and being generous and wanting to share it with others. Be happy. Salvation is a gift.
Written by Roger Bothwell on July 28, 2009
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
rogerbothwell.org