Glacier Christianity
Why most of my faith is secret: A hidden life in Christ
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-3
This passage is basically a hunk of meat. (1 Peter 2:2-3) There is no sweet milk here; a Casual Christian will drown in the depths of spiritual richness of these verses.
But you and I are not Casual Christians.
Our passage begins, If then you have been raised with Christ,
The Scripture references to our own crucifixion (Romans 6:6-8), Death (Romans 6:8-14), Resurrection (Colossians 3:1-2), and Life (Ephesians 2:5) with Christ.
If we are raised and alive with Christ, we must consider ourselves “dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Romans 6:11-13 “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.”
Seek the things that are above,
Jesus’s famous words ring loud here, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust[ destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)
where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Praise God that Christ is seated at His right hand! This exalted position is exactly as He deserves, and where He is currently interceding for His beloved children. Hebrews 1:3 describes His beauty as “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Again, the instructions are repeated, they are that important! 1 John 2:15 cautions, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Finally, we are at the main point I’ve been wanting to discuss!
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
If I am “dead to sin” and “crucified with Christ,” then I am compelled to live in Jesus Christ, hidden in His strength, buried in His mercy and grace. I must cultivate this hiddenness in my devotion to Him during my life on earth.
How? It is in private that I pray (Matthew 6:6) with pure motives and utmost devotion. My secret prayers are the ones that have no fear of pride, but are sincere and intimate with God. It is in private that I fast (Matthew 6:17) because I have nothing to brag about. I am not super-spiritual; I am secretly petitioning God on my behalf or another’s need. I am quietly expressing my devotion and longing for Him.
It is in the early, quiet hours of the day when I commune with God with the Scriptures open before me, because I know I cannot live this day without Him (Matthew 4:4). In the quietness of a solitary car ride, I meditate on His Words and listen to music that compels my greatest devotion.
In my neediest times of loneliness, though none understand my heart, when I have only God to cling to, my life’s purpose is clear only to me: to glorify God.
When I quietly give up my rights of what I so much deserve, to honor my Lord, I am living a hidden life in Christ.
When I surrender what I am owed and what is due to me, whether it is respect or understanding, in the name of Jesus, I am living a hidden life in Christ.
When I give in to others around me, to put their needs first, to love my neighbor as myself, and they have little knowledge or understanding of it, this is a hidden life.
If most of my faith is hidden in this way, it is a strong faith: as the house built on rock stayed firm in the winds and rain, so my faith, when it is tested by the winds and rain of life, will remain firm on its foundation of Jesus Christ.
If my faith consisted only of showing up to church on a convenient Sunday or wearing Christian fashion, this is not faith. There is no hidden life in Christ here that creates a firm foundation.
I have illustrated this concept with a glacier. Scientists tell us that 90% of the glacier is underwater. And although a glacier might appear as a massive chunk of floating ice, only about 10% of it is actually visible. So it ought to be with our hidden life in Christ.
My question, then, is, how deep is my relationship with Jesus? There is no bottom to the depth of the fullness of God; there is always a deeper level to surrender to. His vastness does not end; the deeper we sink into our hidden faith, the more our faith and good works will be seen by others. (Matthew 5:16)
Further reading: Ephesians 2, Matthew 7