The Dividing Line

 In his letter to the Colossians, Paul says, "Once you were alienated and hostile in mind because of evil deeds."  

Right here, I think, is the dividing line of the universe: those who are hostile in mind toward the things of God and those who are not.  Who of us does not remember being hostile in mind toward the things of God: His Word, His ways, His Presence in our lives?  Who does not recall not wanting to hear anyone speak of God, not being interested in the words of the Bible, not believing that God is present among us, acting in our very history?

The division is obviously not between the evil and the good, for according to the Parable of the weeds and the wheat, it is difficult to tell the weeds from the wheat while we are still alive.  Indeed, even in our own lives, the weeds commingle with the wheat on a daily basis.  We are all "good" in some ways; we are all "evil" in some ways, still needing to be cleansed and healed of our blindness and deafness to the ways of God.  But here is the difference: on hearing the good news that God is in our midst, some turn in hope of healing while others turn away, not wanting to hear anything about that stuff.

And while we are still hostile to God, it makes us angry to hear anything about Him.  We dismiss the testimony of those who believe in God as emotional, irrational, irritating, and annoying.  The Pharisees, for all their observance of the Law and the length of their tassels, were still "hostile in their minds" towards the ways of God as expressed in the words and actions of Jesus Christ.  He came to reveal the love of the Father to those who couldn't live up to the demands of the law, to those considered "less than" by the respectable, to women and children who were not be considered as reliable.  

I myself, despite being a lifelong churchgoer and believer in God, still did not want any overt manifestation of faith in my presence; I considered it embarrassing to talk about God, as if we had lost contact with reason and decorum.  I would not at the time have considered myself "hostile" to God, but I just wanted Him in His place -- that is, in safe sermons from the pulpit, not in my living room.

The Gift of the Holy Spirit and the amazing work of Scripture in my mind and heart changed all of that. Jesus came to make all things "new," removing the hostility toward God that spells death to our spirits, and to breathe the freshness of a new creation into our hearts.  If we are comfortable with God in our living rooms, we know that we have hope, despite the sin that still resides there too.  His presence will drive out the sin -- Paul tells the Colossians that Christ has reconciled us to God that we might be holy, without blemish and irreproachable before Him, firmly grounded, stable, and not shifting from the Gospel.  

Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone will let me in, I will come and sup with him and he with me (Rev. 3:20).  He didn't say, "If you are good; if you do the right things; if you "try" hard, -- He said only, "if you will open the door."  That is, if you are not "hostile in your mind,"  I will come in.

It's amazing when we think about it: God does not ask much of us at first -- only that we let Him in.  He will do the rest!