Thank you, Lord, for those who work to get us matured—in school and in Christ. Amen.
11 – Mysteries—Academic and Spiritual
Colossians 2:1–3 — (1) For I want you to know how much I am struggling for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me face to face. (2) I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself, (3) in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Mysterious, impenetrable. It could be a poem, how a muscle functions; there are many things that are hard to understand. Some of these “mysteries” can be resolved by more work, a remark by a professor, or a serendipitous inspiration; others may never be answered. But when the mystery is penetrated, you have new information. The real student is always seeking and finding more illumination.
You can have those deep and moving mysteries of faith as did John Wesley in his conversion experience. As the preacher described “the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ,” Wesley reported that, “I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ.” In this case, faith was a warm heart. Being forgiven, reconciled, accepted by Christ is a marvelous feeling.
But it is also describable. The instructor was asking the student about her faith. She was not shy; it was clear to the class that she was serious about and unashamed of her faith. But she was struggling to find the words with which to articulate her belief. The instructor, sensing a “teaching moment,” pressed for her definition of faith. Her frustration mounted. Finally after the next push by the teacher, she tearfully blurted out, “I know what I believe; I just can’t say it!” Yes, there is the indescribable and impenetrable, but the mystery of Christ does submit to language, to thought, to analysis, if only little by little.
Paul speaks of a mystery revealed; truth, not deception. Getting “assured understanding” and “the knowledge of God’s mystery” is there, in “Christ himself.” But it is a mystery that need not remain permanently and entirely impenetrable. It is an accessible mystery. It enables you to understand the will of God little by little. Faith is not private knowledge or opinion; it works out through the uniting in love of God’s creatures. You can contribute. Your faithful response to the gospel is certainly your own and personal, but it is neither private nor inaccessible to others.
Prayer: Lord, help my faith to be passionate yet well thought through, comfortingly warm yet substantial. Amen.
12 – The Plausibility Argument
Colossians 2:4 — (4) I am saying this so that no one may deceive you with plausible arguments.
How embarrassing it is to be fooled. It is also humiliating and maddening! I can still feel the anger over having my wallet stolen while I was driving an apparently nice young hitchhiker through his home town; and that was over thirty years ago. Or how I was fooled by the other Boy Scouts in Troop 881 about snipe hunting. There are many other arenas in which we can be fooled—with bad information, subtle omissions, faulty opinions, ill-based expectations, and outright lies. So one of the things they (your well-meaning professors) may tell you at your college is that they will prepare you to assess and evaluate information that you acquire so that your conclusions are solid and likely to be valid. Even so, you will be the recipient of dozens of “plausible arguments” during the course of your college career. In some classes you will be presented with a really powerful argument from a significant thinker only to see that argument rejected in the next class session by another even more plausible argument presented by another famous thinker. It can be really difficult to make decisions because plausible arguments are, well, really plausible.
You are on your own now. Your parents are probably worried about what you will think. But they are still confident—or at least pretending to be confident—that all is okay. If your college is typical, there will be little interest in religious faith and the truly deep questions in most of your classes. But there likely will be individuals and groups that will be urging one or another approach to really important issues. Some will argue (plausibly, of course) against any religious faith; others will urge an explicit kind of commitment or involvement. How do you decide?
What has Paul said so that no one will deceive you? He just reminded his readers that “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” are found in Christ. That is your resource. Keep Christ at the center at all times. Then you will have assured understanding because it is based on the most plausible argument ever—Jesus Christ.
Prayer: O Lord, do protect me from the deceit of dangerous arguments. Amen.
13 – To Be “In,” or Not To Be
Colossians 2:5–7 — (5) For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, and I rejoice to see your morale and the firmness of your faith in Christ. (6) As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, (7) rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
My wife spent four wonderful years at a college that sadly closed its doors some years ago. She is a graduate of a school that no longer exists. She continues to attend the occasional alumni reunions—each time with fewer participants. Like alumni of other, still-existing schools, she and her fellow grads are bound together in spirit, but the numbers dwindle. There is no longer a place to be “in,” where “roots” are put down and you are “built up” and “established.” Rather than “abounding,” diminishing seems the more operative term. (Note that in occurs eight times in this passage—especially “in spirit . . . in Christ . . . in him . . . in the faith . . . in thanksgiving.”) How important it is that there be something to be “in.” Without something to be “in,” it is hard to be.)
In contrast, beginning in the 1980s, Duke University enjoyed the prestige that an outstanding basketball program brought—winning national and conference titles. In this day of freedom and of student suspicion of discipline, members of the Duke team had to be “rooted” in the coach’s discipline and vision. He “built up” his team and “established” it as a great team by ensuring that each player did it his way. The result? The team “abounded” in success.
One group shrinks toward inevitable death; the other increases in morale and strength. In many ways, those are the options. Moments of rest, when nothing happens, are rare. You are always diminishing or growing.
The biblical passage for today represents one of those rare moments of pause. Paul applauds the Colossians for coming so far in Christ. Good work, he tells them. Relax for a moment. Remember that you have sent down roots into the Christ who has nourished you. You learned well. Relax. Enjoy.
But note the subtle warning: “Continue to live your lives in him.” This “time out” is only the briefest rest. There is serious work ahead. The cosmic Christ is being challenged on all sides. You have done well so far; it’s soon time to push ahead.
Prayer: Thank you for the promise and the equipment for growing strong and rich in the faith. Amen.
14 – Warning: Intellectual Hijackers
Colossians 2:8–10 — (8) See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. (9) For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, (10) and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority.
Once I saw a large banner suspended from windows above a pedestrian walkway on the campus of a major university. It read: “Jesus Christ, Lord of the Universe.” I wondered if those who had hung the
