“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.” Col. 3:16
Ok, we get the part of this verse regarding ‘getting into God’s Word so that God’s Word gets into us’. (e.g.: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach and it will be given to him.” Jam.1:5) ~~But what about the part of this verse that urges us to teach and warn one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs? Is Paul actually exhorting believers to recite psalms of the bible and sing of God’s greatness to one another as the primary means of edification and accountability? Oh Lord, Shaun and I pray not, or we’ll be reduced a very very small group of friends.
For while worship leaders sing with the ability to usher their listeners into the very presence of God, the earthly voices God has chosen to give Shaun and Betsy do anything but this. (We can’t even sit in the front row at church or we throw the band off!) No no, the more we live and learn, the more we’re convinced that it is not some spiritual chorus coming out of our mouths, but it’s our very lives that become a spiritual song and psalm for (or against) the Lord.
God exhorts us: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” And “Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul and strength…and love your neighbor as yourself.” With verses like 2 Tim. 2:15 and Mk.12:33 as our ‘life’s backbone’, Shaun and I realize that our ‘life’s ribs’ (our marriage, our family, our interpersonal relationships, our work, our recreation, this R&R ministry, etc.) are either reflecting God’s image or tarnishing it. ~~Our imperfect lives either sing a song for Jesus or against Him. And although the words out of our mouths are without notes or melody, hopefully they effectively communicate God’s word, (both logos and rhema), and usher others into the presence of God.
Recently, I’ve been disheartened upon hearing the news of 2 teens belonging to believing friends of ours, saying that they no longer feel that Jesus is the way. ~~ WHY?? ~~What have they witnessed in their lives that would cause them to arrive at this personal conclusion, a conclusion that is so contrary to the faith they were raised with?
One of these teens communicated to me that she simply has rarely seen a Christian with a genuine on-fire love for Christ. And in the rare instances she has witnessed God’s splendor through the life of another believer, the very next moment she has witnessed another Christian cut this person down for the very song that Christ has put inside him or her. ~~The lives of these 2 teens have sadly witnessed more religion than relationship, more judgmental spirit than a spirit of love, more rules than trust, and more hypocrisy than honesty in church and in their Christian role models, and consequently, they are choosing to leave a Jesus they never really knew.
~~God IS love! And although we believers are called to keep one another accountable (1 Cor. 5:12b-13;6:3), we mustn’t let the fear of 1 Tim. 4:1-2 cause us to “police” in such a manner that we risk losing the “rhema love picture” (and thus become nothing more than “logos legalists). Equally important, we must guard ourselves against becoming so casual with God (or calloused by the world) that we lose our passionate excitement for Jesus or the wonder of His magnificence.
(Can’t you envision the angels in heaven, who constantly worship God Almighty in ALL of His magnificence, being totally mystified by how we, God’s chosen squirt-ant kids could be so judgmental OR so casual with God’s splendor?!)
Our God is so awesome and so worthy of our comprehensive devotion. May we each experience Him more fully this week. God bless you!
Shaun and Betsy
