5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature:sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.REFLECTIONSWritten by Susan DucThis passage comes after Paul’s reminder that we are ‘hidden with Christ in God’ (Col 3:3). As those joined to Christ, we have been raised with him and await his return to share in his glory (Col 3:4). In today’s passage (Col 3:5-11), Paul presents the challenge we face of working out the salvation we have received. This challenge has two parts. First, Paul calls on us to put to death our earthly natures, the practices that characterised our lives before Christ. Which sins do you find hardest to resist? Is it greed? Lust? Sexual immorality? Fight temptation and know that your work is not in vain, for Christ has taken your sins to the cross, and brought you forgiveness and new life (Col 2:13-14). Second, Paul calls on us to put on the new self, which is being renewed in the image of its Creator (Col 3:9-10). We are to adopt new practices which embody our new lives in Christ. We don’t just avoid sinful behaviours but replace them with loving and godly conduct. This means we don’t just refrain from slander, but we speak generously of others and love them.As we work to live as the new humanity God has made us to be in Christ, we take comfort in knowing that our salvation is assured by the Spirit. Moreover, God does not leave us to deal with our sin alone: we all have Christ in us, and each other in Christ.Let us praise God, our loving and gracious father, who has begun his good work in us and will see to its completion. Let us confess our sins, repent, and seek help from God and our brothers and sisters to live for Christ as we wait for him to return.ABOUT THE AUTHORSusan is a member of our Bossley Park Morning Congregation.