Week 46—Thursday Colossians 3:12-14
Week 46—THURSDAY
Colossians 3:12-14
“THE BODY OF CHRIST” IS A CRUCIFIED BODY
We ended yesterday with Paul’s conception of Christ continuing to suffer in his body, the church. “In my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church” (Col. 1:24). Christ is being afflicted in his body, not because of the persecution of the Christians, but because the body itself is afflicted with its own self-inflicted illnesses.
Because the church is what it is, Christ is still being crucified. “The body of Christ” is a body still on the cross put there by his own followers. He was wounded at Calvary by his enemies, now he is being wounded again “in the house of his friends.” Paul says, “I enter that suffering with Christ and add my sufferings to his and thus complete in some measure his sufferings.”
I can understand that kind of “body of Christ,” for I am a part of it. I am a part of it, at times, as a part of the disease. I must give him pain—a shooting pain when I lapse into un-Christlikeness. But I am also conscious that a good part of the time, I’m part of the cure. But if I am, it is all by his grace. A friend wrote a letter of gratitude to a prominent businessman who is a Christian from Sunday through Saturday and in all his relationships—contagiously so. The businessman replied, “Where you find anything ugly and mean in my character and life, put that down to me. But where there is something fine and noble and worthwhile, put that down to Jesus Christ.” I can say “Amen” to that. When will Jesus come down from his cross of continual pain? When we as Christians come together and take him down. For he is crucified in our divisions; we press the thorns on his brow when we insert our own ambitions into a kingdom which is based on self-losing. We drive the nails tighter when we lose our tempers and are ugly-spirited and unloving. “He was wounded for our transgressions” (Isa. 53:5), also “wounded” by our transgressions.
O Lord Jesus, we see this continuing Incarnation is a continuing cross. And we begin to see how expensive to you this Incarnation was and is. But now it comes as our opportunity—we can be a part of your vicarious sufferings and a part of redemption. We thank you. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: “I am a part of the disease or a part of the cure.” May I be cure-attituded.