City Life Starter

By Megan Meier

The Word

^“21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, ²² he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, ²³ if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.”

Colossians 1:21-23 (ESV)

¹ “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)

Reflection

Through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, we are forgiven. He made a way for us to have a right relationship with God (Matthew 27:51-53, Colossians 1:19-20). When we accept Jesus and what He has done into our hearts, our names are written in the Book of Life. But Paul writes the holiness and blamelessness come with a condition: to continue living by faith in Jesus Christ. 

Wait a minute, wasn’t the work already done? And we can’t do anything to earn salvation?

Yes, it was. And it’s true, we can’t. But it doesn’t end there.

If somebody has claimed to have turned a new leaf, whether becoming a Christ-follower, hitting the gym on a regular basis, taking care of their finances, or spending quality time with their family, but their actions say otherwise, they haven’t truly changed. It’s one thing to slip up every once in a while, after all, old habits die hard, it’s another to say one thing and consistently do another. I can’t argue with the fact it is very difficult to begin a new habit, and much more so a new mindset. Paul was reminding the Colossians not to turn back to their ways, but instead embrace a life of holiness.

Paul explains this further in his letter to the Romans, that we are to be living sacrifices (Romans 12:1). He says to live holy (set apart) is an act of spiritual worship. He warns not to follow the crowd, but to keep in God’s Word. The problem with living sacrifices is they can crawl off the altar, or even run away. To volunteer to walk to an altar and deliberately stay there every single day requires mental fortitude and faith. It is a sacrifice of pride and selfishness (those vices got humanity into trouble in the first place, see Genesis 3:6). But God gives something even better to replace those vices, spiritual transformation and a new mindset. 

Application

Salvation is not simply a get-out-of-hell-free card. It’s an opportunity to change for the better, to live holy and set apart. We don’t live holy to earn salvation, we live holy out of thankfulness for the gift of salvation. Holy living requires focused direction. Andy Stanley wrote in his book The Principle of the Path that direction, not intention, leads to destination. What direction are you on?  

Prayer

            Lord Jesus, thank You so much for the gift of salvation. Help me to continue to live for You, grant me the mental fortitude and faith to sacrifice my vices and to live holy and set apart. In Your Name I pray, amen.