Colossians 3:1-3 (ESV)

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

In the second post I wrote that I was very insecure as a teenager. At the time I was too proud to admit to anyone that I was insecure. I had to act like I had it all together. But I suspect that I wasn’t fooling anyone. Insecure people rarely fool others. To be insecure is to have fears and doubts; it is to be uneasy and lack confidence.

It is horrible to be insecure. I wish I had really known the truth, and implications, of Colossians 3:3 when I was younger. Don’t get me wrong, my life was great as a teenager, but insecurity was an ever-present threat to my happiness.

Think about the truth of Colossians 3:3. As followers of Christ, we have died. That doesn’t sound good, but it really is good for us. It’s good because of what Paul writes in Romans 6:7, “For one who has died has been set free from sin.” Paul is not talking about a physical death, he’s talking being dead to  sin. It’s good for us, because we’ve died to sin and all the horrible results of sin – like insecurity. We can be free from insecurity. (We are also free from all sins, so that they don’t have to have power over our lives.)

It may sound confusing, but Christ has made it so that we who were dead are actually made alive. We were dead, and by dying, we were made alive. It’s a mouthful, but it’s true.

You see, before we were saved, we were dead in our sins – spiritually dead. But because of the grace and mercy of God, we were made spiritually alive. (All of that is in Ephesians 2:1-10, and it’s great stuff!)

And because we have died, our lives are hidden with Christ in God. That truth gives us great security. Think for a moment. If you are a follower of Christ, your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Since God is completely satisfied being God (remember the earlier posts) it  is only logical that He is totally secure being God. Now it gets good. Since we are with Christ in God, we have every reason to be totally secure as we are completely satisfied in Him. In other words, our security is based on our relationship with Jesus.

We can forget comparisons to other people, how we do in certain things, how we look, etc. because we are secure in Christ. Please let the truth of your security in Christ be real to you!

Think Harder

• Based on the truth of Colossians 3:3, what are we encouraged and challenged to do in verses 1-2?
• How would doing those things make our lives different?