Colossians 2:6-15
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.
9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Empty Hearts Find Fullness in Christ
I’ve observed a particular phenomenon in the Metzger household. Tension is highest and moods are lowest at around the same times every day: 11:30am, 5:30pm. Do you know why? Empty bellies. Empty bellies negatively effect moods. Poor emotional regulation makes for poor company.
If this sounds like your life, I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is that it’s a simple solution: eat something! We all feel better when we’re properly fed. The bad news – this ain’t going away. You’re going to have to deal with this multiple times a day for the rest of your life. Systems, preparations, strategically stashed snacks can go a long way. But one missed meal, one delay, one abnormal day can send you or a family member into a hunger-induced spiral of emotional dysregulation, e.g. anger, frustration, sadness, anxiety.
Now, I realize that I sound like a walking advertisement for Snickers, but I bring this up because what’s true for us physically and emotionally is also true spiritually. An empty heart or a starved soul does no one any good. In fact, it does many people much harm. And just like in real life, spiritual Snickers bars – shortcuts and Band-Aids – are temporary solutions at best. More likely, they’re unhealthy habits that make for unhealthy Christians.
If this sounds familiar, I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is that there is a solution and it does you more good than a properly balanced (and well timed) diet. The bad news is that our condition is worse than hanger, and the road to recovery is technically out of our reach.
The Apostle Paul warned the Colossians against the threat of hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.[1] I could tell you the whole history behind the “Colossian problem,” but what it boils down to is this. There were people in Colosse who suggested that you’re not a “real Christian” unless you obey the Old Testament ceremonial laws and until you’ve engaged in some way with the spiritual realm, e.g. receiving special revelations from God or worshiping angels. Unless you do all those things, you’re not a “real Christian;” you’re a “partial Christian,” “immature,” “half-baked.” In other words, they’re suggesting that you’re not complete. You’re not full. You’re missing something.
And isn’t that exactly what we heard in Genesis 3 today? “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”[2] And after the devil said that, Eve looked at the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and not only did it look good to eat, but it was suddenly desirable for gaining wisdom.[3] The devil’s grand tactic here was the same as the “Colossian problem,” i.e. suggesting that you’re missing out on something, that God’s holding out on you.
And when does that tactic work best? Consider our Gospel: After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”[4] That temptation doesn’t work after dinner. It’s not particularly effective if you have a protein bar in your pocket. But after fasting forty days and forty nights, it’s a different story.
So what does all this have to do with you? I said it before: an empty heart and a starved soul do no one any good. That’s when you’re most susceptible to temptation, to buying the lie that Jesus and the Word that reveals him are not enough, that you need more.
I know from painful personal experience that when I am irregular or downright unfaithful in my personal devotion and Bible reading, that’s when I am most likely to make poor spiritual decisions. The line between what is good and what is sin doesn’t seem so stark. Whatever goodwill toward other people I had in my heart shrinks to the margins that remain (if any do). I begin to shift my focus off of Christ and onto whatever hollow and deceptive philosophy makes me feel good about myself at the time, whether that’s the outward display of a stereotypical Christian life or the internal self-assurance that comes from feeling like I know things other people don’t.
An empty heart and a starving soul is a breeding ground for temptation and sin. The question is what do you when you feel empty? Where do you turn to feel full? Do you try harder and force yourself into a lifestyle you think will bring you fulfillment, but is entirely based on your own effort that inevitably flags and fails when your energy does? Do you turn to podcasts and pop psychologists on social media for the perspective you can only find in the Bible?
It’s the same thing human creatures have done since the Garden of Eden – being taken captive by hollow and deceptive philosophy that depends on anything other than Christ. And the end result is often either that we grow proud about how far we’ve come or how much we’ve done (to the neglect of what Christ has done for us), or we despair that we still haven’t done enough, i.e. that we aren’t enough, which is closer to the truth, but still only halfway there.
Paul described our natural condition as dead in sins and in the uncircumcision of [our] flesh.[5] Not only have we not done everything we should, but we can’t, because by nature we’re dead in sin. That’s the bad news I reference before – that the road to recovery is technically out of our reach. I can’t think myself into maturity. I can’t behave myself out of the grave.
But that’s what makes the good news so good. I don’t have to, because of everything that Jesus did for me. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. [6] God did it all!
He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.[7]
It’s amazing how Paul stacks up these word pictures of forgiveness for us. “He forgave us” means that God showed grace to us when we trespassed against him. When you crossed a line you never should have gotten near, God didn’t relish the idea of striking you down even though you deserved it. Instead, he gave you something you didn’t deserve – his love, a second chance, a clean conscience, because you’ve been cleansed by Christ.
“He canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness.” Whatever outward appearance of righteous living we might maintain, God knows the weakness in our hearts, the evil in our minds. He has an entire book of life that records all our sins. But he cancels the charges by nailing them to the cross as evidence that his death more than pays for your sin.
God has done it all, in Jesus. Which means, my hope and my confidence don’t depend on how good of a Christian I can be. My prospects of entering heaven aren’t dependent on how faithful I am in reading my Bible. They all depend on Christ, and he is more than sufficient for my hope and confidence in salvation and eternal life.
So, whatever temptations are out there to look beyond Jesus or the simple words of Scripture that reveal him to us – whatever temptations come to try to convince you that you have to try harder or be more in order to qualify as a “real Christian” – remember what Paul said at the start: Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.[8]
You have received Christ Jesus as Lord. That’s what the Bible tells us he is. He is everything you need, and because you have him, there is nothing you lack – even if your family member is ill or your financial status is less than ideal. It’s not as if you’re in that situation because your faith is weak or you’re somehow less than complete as a Christian. We live in a sin-filled world with sin-filled problems. But Jesus is the answer – the forgiveness for our sins and the hope of a life that extends beyond this world and into his home of righteousness. And just as Jesus is the fullness of the Deity… in bodily form,[9] because of Jesus and in Jesus you have been brought to fullness.[10] When you have Christ, you aren’t missing anything.
So, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught. There are such strong words to describe the Christian life here. Rooted in Jesus. That means more than a tangential relationship with him, more than just an occasion interaction with him. You have been made to depend on him for strength and life, and you are constantly connected to him. Built up in him. That means that your Christian life isn’t stagnant and it doesn’t plateau. You continue to grow from him and find your strength in him. Strengthened in the faith as you were taught. You don’t need some special revelation. You already have everything you need in God’s Word, and it establishes you as standing on firm ground.
So, dear Christian, continue to live in Christ. When you feel empty be rooted in Jesus. Spend your days in the Word that reveals him to you. Build on what you hear and read and learn, and I promise you – because God promises you – you will not feel the need for more from somewhere else. You will be brought to fullness in Christ and you will overflow with thanksgiving for all the many good things he has done for you, continues to do in you, and will give to you because of his triumph over sin, death and the devil by the cross.
When obstacles come, when you feel empty, live in Christ as he lived, died, and rose again for you. Amen.
[1] Colossians 2:8
[2] Genesis 3:4,5
[3] Genesis 3:6
[4] Matthew 4:2,3
[5] Colossians 2:13
[6] Ibid
[7] Colossians 2:13,14
[8] Colossians 2:6,7
[9] Colossians 2:9
[10] Colossians 2:10