August 20, 2015 | New Life vs. Baby Laughs-A-Lot

 

“Put to death what belongs to your worldly nature … Put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator.” (Colossians 3:5, 10 HCSB)
Put on the new self
In Colossians 3, Paul calls Christians to live by our new true identity in Jesus, putting to death the old life of our natural flesh nature. The image he uses is the “new self” versus the “old self.” The old self once seemed completely appropriate and attractive, but the believer in Christ has new eyes to see the inherent creepiness in that old way of life.
When I recently taught the text, I used a cultural example – something called Baby Laughs-a-Lot. It was a doll advertised [and actually purchased!] in the 1970s. You can see a clip of the old television commercial here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kvenmWEhFE. So creepy! That is what people used to think was a good toy. Paul calls us to leave that disturbing stuff behind. Sure, that used to seem right you, but it’s actually demented and evil. It’s not funny.
A friend later sent me this link from the Toy Channel. It’s Baby Laughs-a-Lot with low batteries: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGb03PO8B1U. That may be an ever better picture of the Christian putting on the old self.
Jesus – all I need and in all I do
I was blessed to spend some formative years working for Pine Cove Camps. The philosophy of programming there was built on the last clause of Colossians 3:11, “Christ is all and in all.” As Bill McKenzie explains in his delightful history of Pine Cove, this is not a statement of pantheism. Rather:
“Don Anderson established the programming philosophy at Pine Cove in 1968, and we’ve used what he put in place ever since. He and I agreed that there is no distinction between sacred and secular for Christians. He often pointed to Colossians 3:11 “Christ is all and in all,” explaining that Christ is “all that a man needs and He is in all that a man does.” – Bill McKenzie, Live For What Outlives You, 59.
Mailbag
I haven’t shared letters in a while. Thought you might also be encouraged by the shared wisdom of the saints regarding Colossians 3.
“Wayne, purposeful living according to the word and the power of The Spirit has been very much on my heart lately as I have struggled with that which is worldly in opposition to the word of God. I started down this path almost 30 years ago and it is still a struggle. Putting off the old self and putting on the new sounds so easy and yet it is not. I think you have nailed it with habit forming. And forming a new habit, especially this habit when the world the flesh and the devil are constantly undermining our efforts, always requires perseverance, patient endurance, humility and the power of The Holy Spirit and The Word.”
“Wayne, when I think about Paul’s analogy of changing our dress of the old self to the new self, my mind jumps back to what he wrote in 1:13, that the Father “has delivered us from the domain and darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son.” In the first-century mind, it is likely that those words conjured up the ancient experience and practice of mass relocation of conquered peoples to new lands. Paul has stated that God has relocated us spiritually – for good in this case, not as a bad thing. So if that’s true, why would we still sport the dress and customs of our old country? We should be acting like we live in a new place, and we should be conforming our lives to the customs and culture of our new kingdom!”
 
More study

In case you are not aware, there is an incredibly well-done resource available for free that will help you and your Bible study group get the most out of Colossians. My partners in ministry have designed a series of frankly fantastic Bible studies based on our study of Colossians. You can access them at: friscobible.com/studyguides.
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