8 See to it that no one takes
you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to
the elemental spirits of the world, and not
according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him,
who is the head of all rule and
authority. Colossians 2:8-10
Paul
continues the letter with more warning about being deceived. I try to imagine
the scenario that is causing his distress. This church was founded on the truth
of the fullness and sufficiency of Jesus Christ. But as often happens, as time
goes on, new ideas seek to seep in. We tell ourselves there must be more. We
begin to look for new insights and truths...and there are plenty of people
around to offer them, most of them seeking glory and power for themselves.
To
know without a doubt that something is true and brings life and freedom, but to
hear of it being threatened must be killing Paul. Must be killing God, who ordained
and watched His only Son killed to be all we need.
These new Christians living in Colossae were dealing
with artful rhetoric and an enticing culture creating doubt about what is
truth. Same for us now.
The more things change, the more they seem to stay the
same. Our culture is full of the same kinds of lures deceiving us,
pulling us from truth. Truth has become a relative moving target.
The Oxford Dictionary word of the year for 2016 was “post-truth”, defined as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective
facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion
and personal belief.” Emotions rule and what is true for
you is true for you, and what is true for me is true for me. But as Christians, we hold firm to the
truth of God. We may not understand it all, but we believe Jesus is THE way,
THE truth, and THE life. We believe in absolute truth.
Do
we have the same sense of concern and urgency as Paul did about things lurking
that are trying to pull us or those we love away from the truth? Do we just
accept that it is part of life and hope for the best, or do we passionately try
to point it out and warn against it? And it is hard, and intrusive, and
possibly offensive to their judgement to point these things out. I think that
is why Paul consistently comes back to love
and unity being woven in everything, lest the message lose its
effectiveness.
Do you believe without a doubt in this truth or have
you let alternative truths seep in and start to grow slow roots? Often I just
have to stop and pray for God to give me wisdom and show me the truth. One of
my favorite verses is,
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:24
One thing we can do for sure now as a first step is to
commit to knowing the truth. And the
way to do this is to commit to being in
the Word, the Bible, and ask God for wisdom and revelation. Truth will be
revealed to us if we earnestly seek it, regardless of how many questions and how
much doubt we have going into it. God wants us to know the truth. We just have
to take the step and put in the work.
I was listening to the Hamilton musical CD last night
and I’m reminded of the lyrics of Hamilton in one scene, “If you stand for nothing, Burr, what’ll you fall for?” And while he
was of course speaking of the American Revolution, the quote it was attributed
to, “If you don’t stand for something,
you will fall for anything” rings true.
Think about the things you are willing to stand for,
to fight for. Is there a thread that links them all? Things you love, things you
birthed, things you worked hard for, things you are currently working hard for,
dreams you have, things of worldly value?
What, if anything, makes you not fight for God and
truth for you and your loved ones with the same intensity? Fear? Doubt?
Insecurity? Uncertainty? Lack of commitment? Not seeing the value? Unsure how?
The threat is real. If we believe what we say we believe, why
doesn’t it bother us as much as it does Paul? Why don’t we fight for it?
We
too are part of a revolution that is worth fighting for. Will you fight for
truth?
Hamilton is still playing in my head and the next song
contains the following lyrics...
I
said shout it to the rooftops! Said, to the rooftops.
Come
on! Come on, let’s go!
Rise
up!
When
you’re living on your knees, you rise up!
Tell
your brother that he’s gotta rise up.
Tell
your sister that she’s gotta rise up.
We are fighting for something bigger than the American Revolution.
We are fighting for the Kingdom of God.
Revolution comes from the Latin revolutio, "a
turn around". We
are fighting for a heart turn around. But deception is a real
threat.
The question is, will we rise up? Will we fight for truth like we
fight for other things that matter to us?
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