Much of Colossians 3 is about how to live the new life that we have now that we are alive and free in Christ. A couple verses stand out to me today.
Put on your new nature and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. - Colossians 3:10 NLT
I like the imagery that comes to mind for me with this verse. When I get up and get going in the morning, I put on my new nature as a free, completely equipped follower of Jesus just like I put on my clothes. This picture of getting dressed, which Paul uses again in Colossians 3:12 & 14, reminds me that I can intentionally choose how I live. I don’t have to go back to my old sinful ways because Jesus has transformed me and given me His Spirit. When I consciously put on this new nature every day, I am much less likely to slip up.
But what does that look like? The next part on the verse helps to answer this question: “be renewed as you learn to know your Creator.” I am renewed, reminded of my new nature, every time I learn to know God better through His word and talking with Him. I love that I can learn to know God better and better every day. And as I get to know Him better, I become more and more like Jesus. And the more like Jesus I become, the more I’ll exhibit kindness and compassion and all the other characteristics that Paul exhorts us to put on in Colossians 3:1-17.
Paul summarizes these instructions in verse 17:
And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. - Colossians 3:17 NLT
What a practical teaching this is! Whenever I have to make a decision, I can ask myself what will best represent my Lord Jesus. If I make a habit of this, together with daily renewing through the Bible and prayer, I will be sure to be living according to my new nature in Jesus.
Thanks to the Father indeed!
Think About: Have you put on your new nature in Jesus?
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