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.
The Son
of God, whose will and interests are at one with those of the Father: you are a
bundle of self-centred fears, hopes, greeds, jealousies, and self-conceit, all
doomed to death. So that, in a way, this dressing up as Christ is a piece of
outrageous cheek. But the odd thing is that He has ordered us to do it.
Why? What
is the good of pretending to be what you are not? Well, even on the human
level, you know, there are two kinds of pretending. There is a bad kind, where
the pretense is there instead of the real thing; as when a man pretends he is
going to help you instead of really helping you. But there is also a good kind,
where the pretense leads up to the real thing. When you are not feeling
particularly friendly but know you ought to be, the best thing you can do, very
often, is to put on a friendly manner and behave as if you were a nicer person
than you actually are. And in a few minutes, as we have all noticed, you will
be really feeling friendlier than you were. Very often the only way to get a
quality in reality is to start behaving as if you had it already. That is why
children's games are so important. They are always pretending to be grown-ups -
playing soldiers, playing shop. But all the time, they are hardening their
muscles and sharpening their wits, so that the pretense of being grown-up helps
them to grow up in earnest.
Now, the
moment you realize 'Here I am, dressing up as Christ,' it is extremely likely
that you will see at once some way in which at that very moment the pretense
could be made less of a pretense and more of a reality. You will find several
things going on in your mind which would not be going on there if you were
really a son of God. Well, stop them. Or you may realize that, instead of
saying your prayers, you ought to be downstairs writing a letter, or helping
your wife to wash-up. Well, go and do it.
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