Colossians 2:6-15 I Know What It's Like to Be Dead

Observation: Paul uses the strongest language possible to communicate life before and after a relationship with Christ: "When you were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh,  God made you alive together with Christ, when he forgave us all our trespasses..."

Application: This text reminds me that connection to Christ isn't just a lifestyle change, where you get up earlier on Sundays, watch your language or switch up your reading material. According to this, connection to Christ is a matter of death and life, and we have about as much control over it as someone who has died has over their state of being.

A really scary thing about death is the nothingness. Your body just stops. Your breath stops. your heart stops. You don't say anything or do anything, or as far as we know, think anything. All that is finished, and when that happens, there's nothing you or any person can do to restore you back to life.

Maybe it seems extreme to compare isolation from God to "death." I know I've had moments when I felt very far from God, but I still was able to "go through the motions," and maybe even have some moments of happiness or meaning in the midst of it. In that sense, it's not really like being "dead", as far as I know.

But again, the point of this passage is not about what the emotional experience of estrangement from God is like. It's about who is in control. Death is the ultimate example of having lost agency and control. And we know there's no coming back from that, at least that we can accomplish. But if God can raise a man from the dead, God can raise us, too. There is no sin, no trespass, no estrangement that God can't overcome, no chasm that God can't reach across and bring us back again. Death is final for us, because it's the definitive end of our power. But for God, who is the source of our lives, it's only the beginning.

As we enter this winter season, I know that seasonal depression can be a very real thing. And that can often be accompanied by feelings of loneliness or isolation from God. If you are someone who struggles from this, I know it can be awful. It can be like having died. Wanting so badly to get up, get out, get moving, get connected, or wanting to want to, but just not having that power within yourself. If this describes you, please know I am here for you, as a listener, as a prayer partner, as a listener, and as someone who can help refer you to professional hep if needed. And please also know this word from God: when we were dead in our trespasses--not sick, not down in the dumps, but dead, with no way to recover--God made us alive again, with Christ. This promise is for you, for me, for all, for always.

Prayer: God, thank your for raising us with Christ. Thank your for reaching out to us when we couldn't reach out to you. Thank you for life. Amen.