Colossians 1:26–27
the mystery that has been kept hidden
for ages and generations,
but is now disclosed to the saints.
To them God has chosen to make known
among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery,
which is Christ in you, the hope of
glory.
May I
once again start by putting two pictures, or two stories rather, into your
minds? One is the story you have all read called Beauty and the Beast. The
girl, you remember, had to marry a monster for some reason. And she did. She
kissed it as if it were a man. And then, much to her relief, it really turned
into a man and all went well. The other story is about someone who had to wear
a mask; a mask which made him look much nicer than he really was. He had to
wear it for years. And when he took it off he found his own face had grown to
fit it. He was now really beautiful. What had begun as disguise had become a
reality. I think both these stories may (in a fanciful way, of course) help to
illustrate what I have to say in this chapter. Up till now, I have been trying
to describe facts - what God is and what He has done. Now want to talk about
practice - what do we do next? What difference does all this theology make: It
can start making a difference to-night. if you are interested enough to have
read thus far you are probably interested enough to make a shot at saying your
prayers: and, whatever else you say, you will probably say the Lord's Prayer.
Its very
first words are Our Father. Do you now see what those words mean? They mean
quite frankly, that you are putting yourself in the place of a son of God. To
put it bluntly, you are dressing up as Christ. If you like, you are pretending.
Because, of course, the moment you realise what the words mean, you realise
that you are not a son of God. You are not a being like
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