A new identity

 This week's verses are Colossians 3:9-15:

Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with its practices and have been clothed with the new man that is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created it. Here there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all.

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others. And to all these virtues add love, which is the perfect bond. Let the peace of Christ be in control in your heart (for you were in fact called as one body to this peace), and be thankful.  

These verses fly in the face of identity politics and factionalism. When they were written, these were still really young issues in the church. People had just begun to distinguish between themselves in the church over doctrinal issues, or over things like ethnicity. Some people ate meat that had been consecrated to idols and some didn't. Some were Gentile believers and others had pure Jewish backgrounds. Division was rising up over made-up internal barriers and through the barriers that existed outside of the church. But Paul's point is that the church should be one church, not a bunch of separate factions that are always at war with one another.

He reminds us that we have put off the old man and have been clothed with the new man. Earlier in the chapter, he says that we have died and become hidden in Christ. So it's a bit like the witness protection program, where your old identity is ended, and a new identity is created for you that saves you from being captured and made to answer for your crimes. If you get careless and go back to the old identity, that's how trouble finds you.

So if this old identity is put to death, that means it shouldn't affect us anymore. Maybe you were born a Greek, but now you're a Christian. Being Greek doesn't mean anything anymore in that context. Your identity is different. Maybe your neighbor was born a Jew, but now he's a Christian. So how can the Greek justify favoring other Greeks, and how can the Jew justify despising non-Jews if their identities are all now Christian? Are you the new thing, or are you still making a deadly connection with the old?

Some of the reasons why we cling to the old identity are rooted in pride or unforgiveness. From a perspective of pride, we think our people are pretty awesome. To the Greek, his people invented civilization. Why shouldn't he be proud? And why should he then tolerate people whose pedigree is less impressive? He might seriously doubt that he could ever have things in common with a German or a Palestinian. His pride has put him in danger of not being able to live out the gospel.

And unforgiveness is even more dangerous. To the Jew, his people suffered the Holocaust and thousands of years of oppression by their neighbors. How can they deal fairly with people with that pedigree? How are they supposed to just put all of that aside and pretend nothing ever happened? Even though his German or Palestinian neighbors had nothing to do with any of the things that happened in the past, they are the most similar thing within striking distance. So internally he might justify treating them like enemies, because vengeance feels good and empowering. And so his unforgiveness has put him in danger of not being able to live out the gospel.

But Paul tells us to bear with one another (in other words, tolerate those people whose pedigrees aren't as impressive as ours) and to forgive one another (in other words, let things go and stop treating others as enemies). We should be treating each other with the same mercy, humility, gentleness, patience, and kindness that Christ had when he bore with us and forgave our sin.

Are you still attached to your old identity? Do you show more allegiance to an identity other than that of a Christian? Are you more proud of being a woman, or a person of color, or an American, or Italian, or all of the above, than you are of being a Christian? Are the views of your political party more important to you than unity in the church? Are there things you're holding onto that keep you from focusing on your Christian walk? If so, you're a barrier to the gospel. How can a divided house stand strong against our enemy the devil?

So, let's do as Paul suggested we do: "Let the peace of Christ be in control in your heart (for you were in fact called as one body to this peace), and be thankful." Take some time in prayer and ask yourself what is in control of your heart. Is it social media? Your friends? Your culture? Is the peace of Christ in your heart, or is there anger, and unforgiveness, and restless self-righteousness? Let the peace of Christ be in control of your heart, and be reminded of your new identity he has invited you into.