“To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father” (Colossians 1:2).
The root of the word “holy” is “separate” or “different.” We aren’t different because we live in isolation from the world. Jesus said that we are in the world though we aren’t of the world. We rub shoulders with our world where we work and shop. We are neighbors to the individuals who live in our communities. Sometimes even our relatives don’t share our faith.
Holiness isn’t standing apart from our world; it is living for God among those who don’t share our commitment to Him. Believers live in two locations. We are in Christ and we are in whatever our Colossae may be. We may move from place to place geographically but wherever we are we are in Christ.
The Colossians were “in Christ” while living in a place of paganism and false religion. We, too, live in an environment that is often hostile to our faith. Secularism, religious legalism and human philosophy are all around us. We don’t move into cloisters to protect ourselves from a worldly environment. We are left here to impact the world in which we live. We have values that represent our being “in Christ” while we live here. We answer ultimately to Christ because we are His representatives wherever we might live.
