“Why don’t you act your age?” Boy, if I had a nickel for
every time I heard that one…
I’m not sure if I matured slower than others, or if this
comment just comes naturally to every parent, but I was frequently told to act
my age. Why, just the other day, Kelly said to me… well, nevermind.
Acting your age… the thought behind the idea is that one
should act in accordance with your age. Immature action is at least
understandable from one who is young, but with age should come a certain level
of maturity which shows in what we do. While it is not impossible to find
someone who acts “older than what they are,” it is all too frequent to see
someone acting like a juvenile child.
When we challenge our children, or our friends, to “act
their age,” we are implying an expectation that one should act according to
what is true. If you are 2-years-old, then act like a toddler. If you are in
your teens, then act like a teenager. If you are in your 40s, then act that
way. The implication is so straight-forward that it is hard to miss—you should
act according to who and what you really are.
This is the logic employed so very frequently in the
Scriptures. People act according to what they are; your nature, what you are
down at the core, shapes your actions. One who is a follower of the Lord will
walk in the light as He is in the light (1 John 1). Why should you expect saltwater
to flow from a fresh spring (James 3)? Of course, it is not surprising that
meat spoils without salt as a preservative (Matthew 5). Dead people do dead
things (Luke 9); but living people should do living things (John 11). Children
of God act one way; but if you act another way, you prove yourself to be a
child of the devil (John 8).
Throughout the opening two chapters of his epistle to the
Colossians, Paul has been painting a picture of Christ as preeminent, supreme,
and sufficient in all of life. And, he has defined what it means to be a
follower of this incomparable Lord—the mystery is that Christ is in us, and we
are in Christ. In coming to the Lord Jesus, we have become new creatures,
something vastly different than what we were before. The change is not so much
in what we think, or in what we believe, or in what we do—the change is in what
we are. And, of course, Paul expects
us to “act our age,” or, to act according to what we really are. If we are “in
Christ” then we should, and we will, act that way. To do otherwise is
inconceivable to Paul. Should we continue as believers to sin? “May it never
happen!” Paul cries (Romans 6). Why? Simply because that is not who we are any longer. We now belong to Him, so
we must act that way.
Once Paul has described who we truly are now that we find
ourselves “in Christ,” he begins to tell the Colossians what actions are
consistent with their new identity. Note carefully, Paul does not demand that
we act a certain way in order to become believers. Rather, he argues that since
we ARE new creations, we should ACT as new creations. We should “act our age.”
We should live as we truly are—“in
Christ.”
Questions to ponder in Colossians 3:1-5 in preparation for
this coming Sunday:
1. Why do we often need to be reminded to “act our age”? Sure,
there are lots of reasons, but how might these translate in your walk with the
Lord?
2. In Colossians 2:20, Paul uses the same logic he employs in
our text. What is the parallel between these two texts?
3. What does it mean to be “raised with Christ”. What does it “feel like”? How do you know if this has happened?
4. If someone were to look at your life, what would they say
you were “seeking”? What does it look like to “seek” something?
5. What are “the things above”? Do you think Paul has in mind
specific things?
6. If we are not to set our minds on earthly things, how can we
be of any earthly help to anyone?
7. What lies behind the imagery of being “hidden with Christ”?
What might that look like?
8. You will also appear with Christ in glory. How about that!
