A Message From Our Kahu
“Clothed with Love”
On Sunday, we took a look at an often misinterpreted passage of Scripture in Colossians, chapter 3, where the writer of the Letter to the Colossians told his readers to “seek the things that are above” and “set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth.” Without reading this passage in the context of the entire letter and what was going on in the church and culture at that time, it would be easy to think that we should all focus on heavenly things and ignore all that is material or earthly. However, the writer has spent two chapters explaining that the fullness of God dwelled in Christ’s body and Christ is in us—carrying the fullness of God into our own bodies. Now in chapter 3, he writes that “Christ is in all.” In other words, Christ is alive and present on the earth and infuses every part of it (including every human being) with the fullness of God. What we learn in Colossians is that the earth is good, as is all of her inhabitants.
Therefore, we ought to put on love—and Christ is love incarnate. What the author means is that we should first strip ourselves of anything that is harmful to the earth or any of her inhabitants and then put on all that Jesus stood for during his life so that when others look at us, they see Christ. The author was in no way giving his readers permission to ignore the earth or her inhabitants. He was not giving them an “out” in terms of their responsibilities as stewards for the planet, their bodies, their community, and the well-being of others. “The things that are above” are all the things we do and think and say that which honors all of creation. So let us put on love and take care of ourselves, our planet, and all that is on it.
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