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Let the Message of Christ

           Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. (Colossians 3:16)

          My first thought on reading this is that Paul must have heard some of the singing of the Colossians. Or maybe Paul had heard his own singing. “Yes, sing in your heart.” Or maybe he knew some of the Colossians were embarrassed about their singing even if it wasn’t as bad as they thought. The problem with that is that he’d just gotten done saying “teach and admonish one another…through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit.

          A better explanation is that there would likely be places where singing with their mouths could get them killed or (at the very least) be inappropriate. If singing with their mouths was not a good idea, they could sing to God with gratitude in their hearts. Probably the best explanation is that they were to sing, with gratitude in their hearts, not sing with gratitude, in their hearts. All these thoughts may be because it was the middle of the night.

          But, what if singing in our hearts is acceptable? If opening your mouth and singing the words on the screen with an attempt to be on tune distracts you from God, then maybe you need to read the words – either aloud or silently. After all, if someone demanded that you sing in French, Mandarin, or Swahili, would you fail as a Christian because you can’t sing in those languages? Could you not praise along with them just because you can’t do it the way they want? While we’re at it, sitting, standing, raised hands, lowered eyes… same thing.

          More important than the manner in which you express yourself is the beginning of the verse. Let – allow, cause – the message of Christ dwell among you richly. That brings to mind a different image about “who” answers the door of your life when someone knocks. The Word of God may answer with a bowl of batter in one hand one time, or with the sword of the Spirit another. It may have a wallet in hand to make a donation into the life of the caller, or a cell phone with which to call for emergency responders. Keep in mind that as a resident, all these can bring the Word of God to you, too

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