Picture Words

I have been reading in Colossians, did you know there was a villain, a model, and a cowboy in Chapter 3? There is a lot in that chapter but as I read, I noticed how many picture words there are. Words that when I read them, a picture automatically comes to my mind. I don’t know if Paul was that descriptive, or just the version of the Bible I am reading.

In this chapter he talks about setting your sights on heaven. Concentrate on heaven and not this earth. We are no longer of this world. When Christ returns he will take us home. I recently heard this phrase, I am a citizen of heaven, and a resident of earth. When my Grandma lived in the nursing home they called the people there residents. They weren’t staying there forever, it wasn’t really their home, they were just passing through for a season. Earth is not my home, I am only passing through for this season called life on earth. And this season is such a vapor in time, such an unimportant vapor in relation to eternity.

Paul goes on to say put to death the sinful things lurking in you. When I see that word lurking, I think of someone hanging around outside your home or outside a place of business. They are dressed in dark clothes, with a hoodie covering their head. Kind of just sneaking around waiting for a way to get in. That is what my sinful thoughts and desires do, they lurk around waiting for an opportunity to sneak into my heart. Waiting for me to let my guard down and leave a door unlocked.

I wish Paul expanded more on how to put our sinful things to death. A quick death anyway, mine tend to want to die slow. Like a long, slow death scene in an old cowboy movie. Where you think the villain is gone but he takes one last breathe or two or three. Some of my sinful ways want that long drawn out death scene. They are shooting for an Oscar award. I want them to be dead and done.

Then Paul has a lists of things we should stay away from, sexual immorality, lust and evil desires, anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, dirty language, and lying. He says stay away from these and put on your new nature, as you begin to know God and become like him, model him.

I picture a little girl, or really any of us girls. We put on a new outfit that we think looks good, and feels really good. We model in the mirror, we are confident, we turn around and check it out from all sides, and we feel good, we feel comfortable. That’s the way it should be as we begin to model Christ. We should be confident in him, we should begin to be comfortable in doing the things he does.

Paul says, in this new life it doesn’t matter what color our skin is, the size of our bank account, the job we do, or the people we come from. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us, who know him. Today is a good day to start day one-to start living in your new nature.