Who Is The Outsider?
The Apostle Paul cautions us,”Act wisely toward outsiders, redeeming the time” (Colossians 4:5). Who does he consider to be the outsiders?
Paul was writing to Christians in the city of Colossae, an important stop on the Roman trade route to Asia, known for its beautiful dark red wool fabrics. In that day, it was a modern, metropolitan city with similarities to our own materialistic society–impurity, immorality, idolatry, greed, malice, and so on.
The outsiders Paul warned about were those who were not saved in Christ but still living a worldly and self-centered lifestyle, and he said to redeem the time from them. The Greek word he used for “redeem” is exagorazomenoi (ἐξαγοραζόμενοι), which also means to make the most of something and not let it go to waste.
Basically, Paul teaches Christians not to waste their time with worldly outsiders. This, of course, does not mean we should stop reaching out and evangelizing for Jesus. However, we should heed Jesus’s command in Matthew 10:11-15, to shake the dust off our feet and leave when someone refuses to receive the Good News. Redeem the time.
Living On The Edge
It is easy to be drawn into our world’s culture and carnal mindset. Because business plays such a large role, we often look at various relationships and aspects of our lives as transactions of risk and reward. But Christ calls us to something greater–the Way of pure and holy love for one another.
God draws us through the Holy Spirit into a new mindset–one of giving and sacrifice, grace and mercy, peace and compassion. Living this way, we become effective ministers of the shared life reflected in the Trinity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in perfect union.
When we, as Christians, get distracted and allow ourselves to be caught up in a worldly frame of mind, we find ourselves living life on the edge of God’s call to who we really are. We can quickly become the same outsiders we should avoid.
Life On The Inside
Praise God that we have a community of faithful followers of Christ, not only here at Keystone Heights Methodist Church, but our sisters and brothers in the Global Methodist Church and other denominations who are true disciples of the Biblical teachings of Jesus.
Of course, none of us is perfect. Only one ever has been, and that is Jesus. Even so, this is why going to church and being part of the Christian community is so important. We can lift one another up, encourage each other to do better, and together grow more like Him–holy, as He is holy.
Life on the inside may not be glitz and glamour, but it is refined and polished; a deep well-spring of life eternal that we can share with each other and with the world.
In Christ,
Tim Grubbs