The front page of the Wednesday, Nov. 10 Times-Union was filled and carried over to page 2 with hatred and frenzy, only to be culminated in an all too brief next to last paragraph of sanity.
Colossians chapter 2 verses 6 to 19 (Common English Bible): “So live in Christ the same way you received him. Be rooted and built up in him, be established in faith, and overflow with thanksgiving just as you were taught. See to it that nobody enslaves you with philosophy and foolish deception, which conform to human traditions and the way the world thinks and acts rather than Christ.
“All the fullness of deity lives in Christ’s body. And you have been filled by him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. You were also circumcised by him.
“This wasn’t performed by human hands — the whole body was removed through this circumcision by Christ. You were buried with him through baptism and raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead because of the things you had done wrong and because your body wasn’t circumcised, God made you alive with Christ and forgave all the things you had done wrong.
“He destroyed the record of the debt we owed, with its requirements that worked against us. He canceled it by nailing it to the cross. When he disarmed the rulers and authorities, he exposed them to public disgrace by leading them in a triumphal parade.
“So don’t let anyone judge you about eating or drinking or about a festival, a new moon observance, or sabbaths. These religious practices are only a shadow of what is coming – the body that casts the shadow is Christ. Don’t let anyone who wants to practice harsh self-denial and worship angels rob you of the prize. They go into detail about what they have seen in visions and have become unjustifiably arrogant by their selfish way of thinking. They don’t stay connected to the head. The head nourishes and supports the whole body through the joints and ligaments, so the body grows with a growth that is from God.”
Questions:
– Why does one bully who homeschools connect with such hate and arrogance and is a self-appointed speaker for anyone who will listen?
– Why does one person’s opinion give license for mayhem and insurrection?
– Why does one person get to tar and feather with sound bites, personal fears, mis- and dis-information, judgement and vicious disrespect and self-grandeur?
As Paul self-sacrificed in his ministry to the churches and at Colassae, let us persevere in the face of these terrible days of rumors, hate, bias, false teaching. Let this be done in the love and assurance that comes with understanding through Christ our Lord.
