We’re going to talk a bit about ‘things above’ and ‘things of earthly nature’ today, so I want to ask two questions first to get us thinking:
What are “earthly things?”
What are “things above?”
Paul gives us a good list in our passage today, earthly things first (this is not a nice list by the way):
Sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, idolatry.
Also anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language.
Not very nice to hear about all these things, we’re all tempted in and sin in these areas in thought and in deed – what we think and what we do – not nice, not good, not what we want to hear about. But important to acknowledge, to reflect on, to pray about.
What about things above?
Paul lists them too: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, love.
Ah, much better! Yes please, sign me up for those!!
These are things above, the things from above, the things of God that he gives us and calls us into. If only the world we live in could be just about these things, not all the earthly things…
The problem is not just the world out there, the world around us, terrible people who do terrible things.
The problem is also US, you and me are part of the problem. We are sinful, we are stuck in earthly things, earthly thoughts and desires too.
Let’s pick out just a few of these things that we all struggle with:
- Have you ever been angry?
- Have you ever said an unkind word about someone else?
- Have you ever worshipped an idol, that is put something that wasn’t God above God?
I’m sorry to say but for all of us it’s a resounding YES to each of those questions. If you said NO to any of those questions you wouldn’t be human! We’re all guilty as charged here.
This is a sad reality, a hard truth, a blemish on our hearts that we all have.
Without God’s intervention in our story, this is all our story would be > all this bad stuff, cycling around and around, nothing stopping it from doing serious damage, from getting out of control!
So how do we stand up against this, the things of this world, our earthly nature, things that only drag us down and stop us from living the lives God has for us to live??
We need help – we can’t do it on our own. Trying to figure this out on our own is not going to work, it’s not going to be enough. Luckily, someone else has already done that for us.
When Jesus died on the cross, he took our anger on himself.
He took our unkind words, our worshipping of idols too.
He took all these things on himself. In him all these things of our earthly nature were nailed to that tree, nailed to that cross. They were beaten, defeated, there and then.
We heard this last week: The charges against us were cancelled, it was all taken away, nailed to the cross. And this same cross is the scene of Jesus’ TRIUMPH over sin and death for us.
So the battle has been won, Jesus has done the hard yards for us, it’s been taken care of.
So why do we still have earthly lives to live?
What are we here for, if it’s not to win the fight against earthly things that drag us down? We could say if the work’s been done, why are we on the job??
Here’s a few reasons why:
Jesus uses people to reach people, he wants to use US as receivers of things above, to live our lives with minds set on things above.
In this life we get to live, in this life is where things above come and meet us in our earthly things.
How does that play out? How do the things above > compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, love play out among us?
Let me ask you another question:
- Have you ever been on the receiving end of COMPASSION?
- Has someone ever been KIND to you?
- Has someone ever been PATIENT with you?
I hope the answer to those questions is also a resounding YES! I really hope this is the sort of stuff that goes on right here in our community, what a beautiful place to be when all that’s happening!
This is how we are called to be together, having compassion, showing kindness and being patient with one another, bearing with one another in love.
We receive these things above and we give them out too > these things above, like our lives themselves – are gifts from God. How God is at work among us right there.
There are a few excellent lines just after our passage today to finish with, verses 15-17:
‘Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.’
Let’s do that! Let’s be people about that, people who know that, people who have received it to be able to live it and give it out to others. Amen to that.
My youngest brother Dan was just here for our night service and he shared how this passage was his Confirmation verse – he’s a musician so it makes sense for a muso for sure, but there’s more to it than that – the peace of Christ dwelling in us, we get to live in that place. Where the Holy Spirit is with us, working in us and through us.
Let’s close with a prayer, handing over the earthly things and thanking God and asking him for things above:
Lord you know what’s on our hearts and minds. You know where we’ve gone wrong and where we’ve struggled. You know the good things we’ve received, and you know the things we are in need of.
We ask you would forgive us when we’ve been angry. When we’ve said or thought unkind words about other people. When we’ve put other things ahead of you, forgetting and ignoring what your Son has given for us.
We thank you that you have given us things above, you have compassion on us. You have showed us kindness and you have been patient with us.
We ask you would work in us things above, that you would lead us to have compassion, to show kindness and to be patient as we have first received all these things from you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Tom Kitson 