Hidden

“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. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:1-4 ESV).

I stood behind the massive bass drum in the back of my Junior High School band room. The bass drum part in the song was simple and repetitive…boring! I found my mind elsewhere as the song continued it’s tiresome march through the first-hour class.

An eighth-grade boy has a voracious appetite which can often lead to something that most eighth-grade boys find amusing. Hidden, or so I thought, and with the noise of the band (If you’ve ever been to a middle-school band concert, you know what I mean by noise!) providing cover, I planned a course of action that would provide me with some relief from a certain discomfort. Just as I executed my well-thought-out plan, the entire band, as directed by our teacher, went silent! I was so wrapped up in my own little world that I paid no attention whatsoever to his direction.

I immediately felt as though all of the blood had rushed from my body. There were laughs, scorn, pointing fingers and a disapproving glare from the teacher. I could have been on one of the airline commercials; “wanna get away?”

I’m sure that we all have had times when we wish we had been invisible. The list of things that I have regretted doing continues to grow–though thankfully at a much slower rate than when I was in eighth grade.

Colossians 3 contains a list of regrettable actions; or to call them as they are: sins. We’re entreated to set our minds on heavenly things and to put aside earthly, sinful, things.

I’ve always been told that when you see the word “for” in the Bible, you should look to see what it’s there for. Verse three says, “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (emphasis mine). Looking back at the previous verses begins to paint for us a beautiful picture.

When we come to faith in Jesus, we die. Not in a physical sense, but a spiritual one. We die to our old ways, our pattern of sin. We are resurrected through that same faith to a new life. We no longer find our pleasure in sinful things, but we seek spiritual things, surrounded by Jesus.

Jesus told his disciples, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves” (‭‭John‬ ‭14:10-11‬ ‭ESV‬). We are, likewise, in Christ. And as we yield to His direction, it is Him who works through us! Our lives are hidden and the life of Christ is revealed to the world!

As an introvert, I like to be hidden. I enjoy solitude. It is not my natural inclination to spend a lot of time with other people. Perhaps you can identify. But as an introvert whose life is hidden in Christ with God, I can allow the love and works of God to flow through me outwardly as well as inwardly. It’s not me that reaches out to the lost and hurting, but Christ working in me!

The world should be able to see Jesus when they look at me, because God “who dwells in me does His works”!

If, however, we chose to go about our lives as though faith in Christ is a “one-and-done” deal, our lives are not “hidden in Christ with God”, then we are none of His. Ouch!

Blessings on your weekend!