Inside out

Colossians 2:6-8

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
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.

I was sharing yesterdays story (on my blog) about Chase at our community time because it related to a passage that we are studying as we read through the book of Colossians together.

It is amazing how we look to, even rely upon, these external philosophies, traditions and principles to guide us as we live our lives. Like a crutch - or maybe a leash - to keep our hearts under control and give our lives direction. I suppose there are many reasons... a fear of sin, failure, success. But us humans migrate to them religiously, politically and socially all the time. It seems a lot like the difference between having a dog on a leash versus having a dog that is attentive to (even "in love with") it's owner... ready to move, ready to turn... looking for that change in stride or turn of head.

We can feel the battle that is taking place between walking with/in Christ and allowing ourselves to be controlled or guided by external devices but it can be tough to see the differences. In Colossians 2 we see some examples of what these two types of lives can look like:

External = philosophies/empty deceit, human tradition, elemental spirits/principles, false asceticism and worship, puffed up sensual mind/ideas, not holding fast to Christ, etc.

Internal = rooted and built up in Christ, established in faith, taught, thankful, being filled, changed/circumcised heart, made alive... and debt free, holding fast to the head which is Christ, etc.

At the heart of this passage is this simple, powerful truth:
Jesus is more interested in remaking us from the inside out than he is with us adhering to a list of rules.

He desires a heart that walks with Him.

We left our time together with two questions:
Where am I relying on a leash/rule to govern my soul instead of nurturing this profound relationship with Christ?
Where do I see a flicker of this walk inside my heart that needs to be fanned into a passionate flame?