Most believers are familiar with the biblical metaphor of the new birth (John 3:7), but birth or belief is just the beginning for the person of God. Eugene Peterson writes, “Birth presupposes growth, but growth proceeds from birth. … Birth is quick and easy (at least it seems that way to fathers—mothers have a different slant on it); growth is endless and complex” (Eugene Peterson, “Introduction,” in Practice Resurrection [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010], Kindle). The point is that we, like babies, must grow up. This passage in Colossians is a practical reminder that once we are made new, the old self must be cast off as we grow into maturity. That growth can only happen as we allow God’s Word to inform and transform our lives while we live in community with others.
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