Preparing for Christmas Advent Devotional 5

6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

For many families, the holidays come with a multitude of rituals and rules. Grandma has a particular way she would like the plates to be set out. Aunt Susie runs the gift exchange like clockwork. Uncle Bill says a rehearsed prayer before anyone is allowed to eat. Kids better stay at the kids table. No one can go to the dessert table too early. And at all costs, everyone should avoid talking about politics!

I remember my first holiday dinner with my boyfriend’s (now husband’s) family. As soon as dinner was over, every woman in the house jumped into action, scurrying this way and that. Some washed the dishes, some put chairs away, some collected the food. In my family growing up, guests were not expected to help with such tasks. Even family members who offered help were often told by the hostess that we were not needed. So I stood back, thinking I would politely stay out of the way. But suddenly, one of my husband’s aunts turned to me and said bluntly, “If you just keep standing there, I’ll give you something to do.” I was embarrassed and shocked; I had broken a family rule without even knowing. At that moment, I was looked down upon for not doing what was expected.

Being with our families (or in any group) often magnifies this tendency of the human heart: we like to make extra rules to create order for ourselves and to rank who we think is “righteous” in our own eyes. In Colossians 2, Paul warns the church in Colossae of a group who is trying to do just that, to the detriment of the gospel message. Many commentators agree that these disruptors were likely the Gnostic sect, a heretical faction who believed they had insider knowledge about Jesus. Also, one of their foundational beliefs was that the human soul was good, and the body bad. They thought that denying their bodies as much as possible would restrain their desires and lead to salvation through knowledge. So they gave up many physical comforts and made legalistic rules about what could and could not be enjoyed. They tried to impose their strict rules and hopeless philosophy on God’s people as well, which created a mess.

Paul acknowledges that these arguments sound wise on the surface in verse 23. A piece of them rings true to our ears even today (after all, Jesus was the one who said that the spirit is willing but the body is weak in Matthew 26:41). But Paul also warns them that there is no joy or true life to be found in these ascetic practices; they are destined to perish (verse 22). Our desires are meant to be filled in Christ, everything we enjoy on earth is a shadow of him. In fact, the fullness of Deity was placed inside a human body (verse 9)! This is what we celebrate in Advent: freedom from religious rule keeping and the nearness of God in the Incarnation.

Our bodies are not inherently bad, in fact when they are surrendered to God, they can be leveraged to give Him greater glory. Salvation comes from placing trust in Him, not from knowing the right facts or keeping human traditions and laws. We no longer have to submit to these kinds of practices or philosophies in Christ. Instead, we can allow our desires to point us to Jesus, and there find true fulfillment. He gives us fullness and makes us alive with him (verse 10-14)!

As Christmas approaches, it is worthwhile to evaluate what kinds of “rules” you may follow that are merely human practices. Some may show up around your Christmas dinner table, but others may be more pervasive in your everyday life. Let Christ’s Incarnation teach you to search for holiness in his righteousness instead of seeking self-justification in made up rules!

1. Are there rules not specifically commanded in Scripture that you feel are necessary to follow to be a Christian? Do you feel the need to dress, talk, act, or vote a certain way?
2. Do you look down on people who do things with their body that you don’t do? Is that because those things really are sinful or because you are puffed up with some kind of “knowledge”? What would it look like to show Jesus’ gracious love to sinners anyway?
3. Are your desires met in the fullness of Jesus? Or do you try to find them in religious practices that are only a shadow of him?