The old has gone and the new has come…

Recently, my brother had the opportunity to spend a significant amount of time in Berlin. Germany. Although much of his work centered around a small café’ in East Berlin, during his time there he heard many stories and saw remnants of the Berlin Wall, which was torn down in 1989. It was said that life in Berlin changed drastically at this time, especially in the eastern half. The wall was now torn down, no longer were friends and fellow citizens kept apart by the decrees of man. Following, and as part, of the joyous celebration of reconciliation – many symbols of the communist regime were destroyed.

In Colossians 2:8, Paul says: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”

Paul is using this statement to again, declare freedom to those in Colossae. They had been under the deceptive influence Rome and the emperor, a system that degraded their status as image bearers of the living God. He goes on to say that when the old has gone, we are made fully alive in Christ. We are free to enter into the story of Christ and His creation. This is a beautiful narrative of Creation, Fall, Redemption and Re-Creation.

We are now free to be re-created in Christ and to no longer live under human judgments. We are no longer held in judgment…

How often do we let what others might think of us get in the way of living a full life?

How often might we be the judges? Possibly holding back someone else from experiencing life as God may have intended it for them?