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“Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.” Colossians 3:6-7 (NIV)

The apostle Paul had a special love for believers, and he expected from them the same type of transformation he experienced in his own life. In his letter to the church of Colossae, he consistently admonished the people about their conduct. In verse 5, he listed a few things that were detrimental to their healthy spiritual life, and spurred them to put them to death, or, in other words, completely stop doing them.

As with our physical bodies, which must be well cared for, as in adopting good, healthy habits in order to maintain themselves strong, our spiritual lives must equally be treated with care. In order for us to quit a bad habit, we must recognize that our old life, the self that we knew before we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, is now dead. We must completely leave behind those things we used to do that separated us from God, and practice good habits in their place. Away with the old and in with the new.

Making a transition from something bad into something good takes hard work and determination. For example: when an alcoholic person recognizes that she has a problem and works towards solving that problem, i.e., stopping the drinking, thus avoiding the negative effects of it, she will need to take action and exchange the old habits with new ones, such as getting rid of the alcohol that she has access to, not buying anymore alcohol, resisting the temptation of having a small or ‘social’ drink, and finding an accountability partner to help her remain on course, thus choosing life.

When someone makes a decision to live for Christ, she will, likewise, have the need to survey her habits as to identify what is good and should be kept, and what harms her relationship with God, thus needing to be stopped once and for all.

“Father, we need Your redemption in our lives. We release all that we are and all that we do to You. Please help us change what does not benefit our spiritual life.”
 

For His Glory

Luska Natali
TRBC Women’s Life