“Do not let anyone who delights in false
humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about
what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head, from
whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews,
grows as God causes it to grow.”
Colossians
2:18-19
In 2003, while
participating in the World Championship, Jon Drummond was disqualified from the
100-meter race because he false started.
Disqualified. Not the outcome
that he imagined I am sure. Jon did not
take this lightly either. Upon
disqualification, he laid on the track and refused to move for almost an
hour. He eventually acquiesced and was
later observed crying on his coach’s shoulder, rolling around on the infield
and jumping into the steeplechase pond.
Having been disqualified after years of training is a tragic outcome. All those years of careful discipline that
culminated in this one event … wasted.
And there was a purpose for all that training. Jon was focused on a prize. If Jon didn’t
run, he wouldn’t get the prize. He
wanted the prize. The prize was the goal. Yet because of an error in judgment, he was
disqualified.
Paul is warning
the Colossian church that they are in the same kind of peril. They too, could be disqualified for the
prize. What is the prize? Experiencing
the fullness of Christ. “Christ in you,
the hope of glory.” Remember in Colossians 1:27, God has revealed this great
mystery. God has provided for us
immediate and continual access to the fullness of deity in Christ, and by him,
strength, help and comfort along our way.
This prize is evidenced with the experience of true love, joy and peace.
The prize is Christ!
What was the
disqualifier? In this case, the Gnostics were at it again. Apparently they were teaching that there was
a hierarchy of angels between all human beings and God. These angels needed to be placated and
acknowledged. One’s knowledge increased
with each contact until at last one entered into the fullness of understanding
of the Oneness of all things. This
contact came through visions and manifestations. Ahem.
This same thing
goes on even today. There is nothing new
under the sun. The New Age Movement, as
far as I understand it, claims that we are all part of the universe of created
matter, and that we are united in Oneness with God. The claim is that this is the way to escape
from being centered in oneself, and so move into the fullness of knowledge of
the universe. While the goal is to move
you beyond yourself, in actual practice, it focuses on oneself. The real goal is to develop all your
self-powers. The idea is that everything
is already there inside of you, and all you need to do is bring it out and
develop your possibilities and full potential.
This happens through meditation and manifestations just like what the Gnostics
were teaching. The focus is on you and
your power rather than on Christ.
Full
disclosure. I am not a worshipper of
angels. Glad I got that off my
chest. But I am prone to worship other
things. It seems the key to discovering
what one really worships is intricately connected to what one serves. The Gnostics served angels. What do we serve? Sure at first it can be a good thing or even
a God thing but if not monitored closely it can become an idol of false
worship. Examples? Money, children, job, spouse, car, health,
family, purpose, ministry (yes even ministry), home, body image, oh and self
(that is the New Age relevance). All of
these things can disqualify us from the prize if we aren’t careful in keeping
them where they belong.
How do we stay
focused on the prize? Paul tells us two
ways. First, don’t lose connection with
the head, which is Jesus. As a body will not survive without a head, neither
will any believer survive without Jesus.
The head is what produces a life force within us. Aside from the ability to keep our bodies
alive, the head is where all the intellect, knowledge, wisdom and understanding
reside. Without our head we are lost as
well as dead. Life is connected with
Christ and not something other than Him.
He is your life. He is all you
need.
Secondly, connect
with a body of believers. If you are
seeking after spiritual connectedness and growth, according to Paul, it can’t
happen if you have lost connection with the body.
“He has lost connection with the Head, from
whom the whole body, supported and
held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows
as God cause it to grow.” (v19 emphasis mine)
God causes growth
through the body. It is through
community that we are instructed and developed.
There is no such thing as solo Christianity if you want to participate
in true authentic spiritual growth.
Where do you find
yourself today? Do you feel like perhaps
you have lost connection with the head?
The body? Do you feel like
perhaps your spiritual life has derailed?
Are you wondering if you have been disqualified? No worries.
Jon Drummond, while disqualified from his race was not kicked off the
team. If you are thinking that perhaps
you have been disqualified, remember you are still on the team. You’re still one of us. Get back into training. Connect with the head. Return to your crew. Run you race and stay focused on the
prize.
Christ in you the
hope of glory!
“Do you not know that in a race all the
runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the
prize. Everyone who competes in the
games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last;
but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running
aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No I beat my body and make it my slave so
that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the
prize.”
1
Corinthians 9:24-27
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