you died

reading in colossians again, i'm struck by one phrase; "you died". why this was so striking to me, i'm not completely sure but i was stunned as i read on; "for you died, and your life is now hidden with christ in god".

i've been spending a ridiculously large amount of time this past couple weeks thinking about who we are in christ and even more than that, just how does god see us. there is an absolutely awesome book by Brennan Manning called "abba's child" that is again rocking my world. as i reflect on the passages in scripture where god sees believers as "pure" "spotless" "without blemish" "undefiled" i am becoming more and more convinced that most of the time when we see god as a vengful or angry god it is totally something we project on god that he's not. the weight of scripture is clearly pushing toward a god that loves beyond measure, but in that love he is still just.

where this leaves me, is to wonder if most of the time when i think of myself as unworthy of god's love, is that some projection that i'm putting on myself? i think it is. manning calls this the "imposter", it's the lie we tell ourselves to keep us from fulling embracing the love of god in our lives.

living in that love brings us freedom unmeasured and peace unparallelled.

i died with christ, now it's only in him that i can truely live. clean, unblemished, righteous, holy undefiled before the almighty god, what a reality to live in....the kingdom of god is a reality in this world, not just a hope for someday yet to come. "for I DIED, and MY LIFE is now HIDDEN with CHRIST in GOD. what an insanely cool reality!