HOMESCHOOLED
In the Classroom with God
August 9th, 2023
See, I’ve been in the classroom lately. With God. And while the lessons have been extremely difficult, excruciatingly painful, exhaustingly real, they also are the purpose of a patient Teacher’s Lesson Plan—extravagantly designed for my good and ultimately His use. And He is (home)schooling me so I may know that He has my best interests strategically in sync with the beat of His heart.
TODAY’S LESSON: All Dressed Up; Any Place to Go?
Colossians 3:1-17, ‘So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from His perspective. Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ. And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That’s a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It’s because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn’t long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk. Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ. So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.’ (MSG)
Life is oxymoronic. We are told one thing, but, really, in the economy of God, the opposite is better. That’s the way we should walk, in His way, since He is the Creator of the Universe. But the value system of this world is in vast disagreement with what God calls worth. Godly principles say things like the first will be last; or lose your life to find it; pretty is as pretty does; or, how about, when someone smacks you up side the head, turn and give him the other side of your head to smack, or at least the shirt on your back? Life tells you, whatever it takes, get where you are going, don’t ever, no, ever, let anyone get in your way; always keep your eye out for Numero Uno (and who is that? Why, me, of course!); money, not love, makes the world go ‘round; get yours before it’s gone; and, what goes around, comes around.
But as Christians, we must dance to a different drummer—the heartbeat of God, our Father. We are set apart. Isn’t that cool, to be set apart by and for a Holy God?! He has made you and I in His image. We are to be the fragrance of Jesus, so that everywhere we go, we waft a pleasant, soft and gentle aroma of peace and goodness. He causes us to do good, to be right. He wants His children to bear His mark of mercy and grace, which is not condonement, but it is acceptance; not judgment or hypocrisy, but understanding and looking through His lens, not that of our own tainted blindness. And we must wear His wardrobe, a garment of praise, outfitted in love, draped in patience, dressed in kindness. God has set us apart, and that means we must look different, act different, be different.
Too often, we ‘take’ our Christianity on and off depending on where we go and who we are with and seen by. I know! I was one of them. I caused harm, I know I did. Who I was spending time with determined how I carried myself. I hurt my children. Based upon how they viewed me and accepted me decided the amount of money that was spent, where we went, if we consumed adult beverages, how I talked and performed, who I was in the company I was keeping. I would give anything today to change how I was, but I cannot, and the bitter taste and the nasty smell I left behind me lingers still in our relationship, or lack thereof. I cannot change how I was then, but I can change who I am today, how I carry myself and the realness of who Jesus is changing me to be.
If we claim to know Jesus, to live for Him, to serve Him, to allow Him to love others through us, we must be authentic more than we are anything else. People will not care about what you know, but they will care about who you are and how you carry yourself if you are representing Jesus. That is an old way of life that needs to be shucked off, put away, crucified with Christ, left behind. Irritability, negativity, hypocrisy, contentiousness, petulance, hypersensitivity, exasperation—all are characteristics of our old life, and they must be nailed to the cross; not to mention, hatred and bitterness, contempt and hostility, prejudice and malice. We must change if we are to enact true change in this world. Jesus wore compassion ‘wearever’ He went, and we are made in His image, so we must wear love ‘wearever’ we go.
And they will know we are Christians by our love. (John 13:35)
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT:
What does authenticity mean to you? ________________________________________________________
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What are some mannerisms you need to take off and some new ones you might like to ‘try on’?
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‘I hear the Lord saying, “I will stay close to you, instructing you and guiding you along the pathway for your life. I will advise you along the way and lead you forth with My eyes as your guide. So, don’t make it difficult; don’t be stubborn when I take you where you’ve not been before. Don’t make Me tug you and pull you along. Just come with Me!”’ (Psalm 32:8-9, TPT)
