“For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col 3:3)

After baptism, where we die and resurrect in the likeness of Christ (Rom 6:5), our lives are said to be hidden with Christ. This gives the idea that although we still live in this world and are not taken out of it, yet we are protected from the world and the evil one who rules it (John 17:15). As Christians, not only are our lives hidden in Christ, Christ is our life (Col 3:4), giving us the assurance that God is always with us and when He comes again, we will appear with Him in His glory.

Therefore, with this special status as “the elect of God, holy and beloved” (Col 3:12), Paul exhorts us to seek the things of Christ and set our minds on the things above (Col 3:1-2), because our true life is the new life we receive in Christ, and our true home is the heavenly home that is already prepared for us.

While we journey through this life, let us always keep the focus of our lives on our true purpose: ensuring we get to our heavenly home. To do that, we must always reflect if we have put on the new man, who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Christ (Col 3:9).

Colossians 3 offers us some guiding principles of a life that is transformed into the image of Christ, the essence being – “But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection” (Col 3:14). The caveat is that we must not condone the sins of our brethren out of our “love” for them. In fact, true love for their souls include teaching and admonishing each other from the wisdom that comes from God’s words (Col 3:16), and bearing with and forgiving them (Col 3:13) if they had wronged us.

In conclusion, our true life is the one hidden with Christ, awaiting to receive glory with Him when He comes again. May God help us to live our lives with the love of Christ in our hearts, and always set our minds on our heavenly home above.